CapMetro's Railroad Tracks Bend and Warp in Extreme Heat

The extreme heat in Austin, Texas, has caused railroad tracks on Capital Metro's Red Line to warp, posing a potential danger of derailment. A short stretch of tracks near Cherrywood Road and Clarkson Avenue was found to be warped earlier this month. An engineer operating a train detected the issue and slowly drove over the warped tracks, following standard procedure. Passengers on later trains had to be transported by buses between stations. This is the first time a deformed track has been detected on the Red Line since September 2021. Extreme heat is causing trains to slow down nationwide, and the alternative to slowing down is expensive and time-consuming track repairs.