Solar storms expected to ’cause travel chaos’ as radiation can alter signals on train lines

Patterson added that this phenomenon has been observed in both Sweden and Russia.

There is also "strong anecdotal evidence from other countries" including the UK.

Space weather constitutes solar flares, solar winds, and coronal mass ejections.

Solar flares are eruptions of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface – CMEs are a type of solar flare.

Meanwhile, solar winds refer to a continual stream of protons and electrons from the sun's outermost atmosphere – or the corona.

This type of solar activity can pose a risk to many radio and satellite systems we rely upon on Earth, such as GPS and power grids.

However, Patterson noted that other infrastructure such as gas and oil pipelines and railways can also be affected.

Patterson explained: "The disruption to railways occurs when solar storm conditions from the sun interact with our magnetic field, this causes electric currents to build up in the ground which find their way into grounded conductors such as railway lines."

"These currents then mix with the currents used to control railway signals and can confuse the system into giving false readings."

Currently, Patterson is in the process of publishing data that shows how elements of the U.K. rail network are vulnerable to severe space weather effects.

For example, space weather could cause a green train signal to turn red – which could cause problems and delays.

Patterson's data also shows that under rare conditions, the opposite could theoretically happen – which could prove very dangerous.

"Our future work is to understand more clearly how bad space weather would need to get to cause that to happen," said Patterson.