Dutch railway company NS is reducing services on some routes because of the heatwave, which means tracks may buckle in the high temperatures.

Reduced services have been operating from Amsterdam’s central station since earlier this morning and other routes from Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht will also be affected until the evening.

Track maintenance company ProRail is carrying out extra checks on the tracks to make sure they are not being affected by the heat. The high temperatures can also affect bridge opening mechanisms, causing long delays, NS said.

In Gelderland council lorries have been out to spread grit and salt on some roads with a new surface that cannot cope with the tropical temperatures. In some places, the road surface has melted, and officials hope spreading the grit and salt will help bind it together again.

Records

The temperature on Wednesday evening did not drop below 24 degrees in many places, which is a new record high for a summer evening. The previous record of 23.1 degrees was recorded in Maastricht in 2012.

The temperature is expected to hit 36 degrees in inland areas on Thursday and there may be localised thunderstorms in the evening.

On Friday it will be cooler than today at 29 degrees but the temperature will rise again to the mid-30s on Saturday. Next week it will remain summery and warm but with more showers.