Bemused rail travellers could not believe it when they were told their journeys had been disrupted because the sun was too hot!

The bizarre announcement which greeted frustrated commuters yesterday just about completed a seasonal cycle of problems for train operators.

Every rail traveller has heard of the problems caused by autumnal leaves on the line and by the wrong type of winter snow making trains wheels slip.

Now the warmth of yesterdays spring sunshine is being blamed for causing the tracks to warp.

And passengers today faced more misery on the railways as services between Ilkley and Leeds and Bradford were cancelled due to an overhead power line failure.

The heatwave caused tracks to buckle on the North West lines out of Leeds station, which includes services to Bradford Forster Square, Ilkley and Skipton, as temperatures soared to 24 degrees centigrade (75 deg F) yesterday afternoon.

Hot-and-bothered commuters faced massive delays as some services were cancelled and speed restrictions of 15mph were put in place when the track was at its hottest.

A temporary bus service ferried people from Bradford Forster Square into Leeds and from Leeds to Horsforth.

Services running from Leeds to Skipton were cancelled from 2.30pm until after 5pm while those wanting to get to Bradford Forster Square and Ilkley had to change at Shipley.

A spokesman for Railtrack promised services would be back to normal today but overhead line problems caused a fresh wave of cancellations and delays this morning to the Leeds North West services, including trains between Leeds and Shipley and Ilkley.

She said: We have had some problems which are affecting services from platforms one to five, and would apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused.

The cause of the technical glitch was still being investigated, she said, but said engineers were expected to have services running as normal again by 8am.

Of the heatwave, the spokesman said: During the hot weather the temperature on the track increases, which is a potential cause for concern as the steel track can expand, or buckle as we call it.

This has a tendency to happen between 2pm and 6pm when the track is at its hottest.

It has been the services on the North West line which have been affected and we are looking into what causes it and how we can prevent this happening. In the meantime precautionary measures are put in place.

A spokesman for the PA Weather centre said temperatures in the Leeds area were the highest in West Yorkshire yesterday, at 24 degrees centigrade.Similar sizzling temperatures are forecast today, but tomorrow will see a drop to 20 - 21, which is still above average for the time of year.

Commuters waiting at Bradford Forster Square said they were getting sick and tired of problems.

Oliver Wiggins, 33, commutes from Leeds to Bradford daily. He said: The problem is information. Its clearly a Railtrack problem and theres a Northern Spirit guy here who cant give us any information because he's not in control of the announcements.

Its a fragmentation problem because the companies are not working together.

Performance seems to be getting worse and over the last few weeks has been atrocious.

And many commuters were hot under the collar because it was a sunny Friday afternoon and they were eager to get home.

Paul Loat, 21, of Saltaire, a customer service advisor in Bradford, was looking for alternative transport after his train to Leeds was cancelled.

Im a bit fed up because it means I am going to be really late home tonight. Its so warm and Im supposed to be going out this evening.

Apparently theres a problem with the signalling but its just ridiculous.

While Melanie Rayner, 24, of Guiseley, who works in Bradford was supposed to be catching the 5.27pm train from Bradford Forster Square to Ilkley.

I am just so fed up because there are problems all the time. Its Friday afternoon and we all want to get home. There are supposed to be coaches on but there is no sign of any.

Nobody seems to know whats going on either and weve had no help.

Derrick Joanes, secretary of the Wharfe Valley Rail Users Group, said: Its pretty dire at the moment. Theres no indication of how long its going to go on for.

Lets hope they get it back in working order - obviously the most important thing is that its back to normal for Monday.

Peter Cushing, regional director of Arriva trains, said: There was a buckled rail outside Leeds which affected platforms one to five. Train services have been delayed and some have been cancelled but we have been supplying bus services and are hoping they will be back up and running today.