this is off that link i posted
- As most track is made up of long pieces of rail that are stretched and welded together, there is much less chance of buckling in very high temperatures because there is reduced compression.
- When a track is made up from short rails bolted together, we leave small gaps between each one so that expansion doesn’t cause a problem.
i reckon its a cost cutting exercise. might be to cut down the noise? but either way the longer lengths cant cope with the extremes of temps we are getting if they made them able to withstand the severe heat then they claim they would be fooked at very low temps. i very rarely use the train but i seem to remember not hearing that familiar cla-clack, cla-clack. as much. btw that was my best trainline impersonation. wonder what happens in countries such as italy where there is snow and ice on them and a few months later temps as high as what were experiencing now.