A fire near Paddington station has sparked chaos on London‘s trains as services to and from Heathrow Airport were suspended this evening.
Photos posted to social media showed smoke billowing above the Paddington area of north-west London on Saturday afternoon.
The blaze is thought to have started near Old Oak Common, causing a loss of power to a cable line between Paddington and West Ealing.
It meant that all lines from to and from Heathrow were suspended this afternoon with Heathrow Express and Reading overground services significantly effected. London Underground trains through west London were also delayed.
Transport for London said the Elizabeth Line is suspended between Paddington and Heathrow terminals four and five. The line to Abbey Wood, meanwhile, is experiencing severe delays.
After the fire broke out, some 380 passengers were evacuated off the Elizabeth Line.
Great Western Railway earlier warned that services could be cancelled, delayed or terminated at Reading until 7pm at the earliest. Disruption is however expected to continue until the end of the day.
Those flying out of Heathrow this evening have been warned to allow ‘extra time’ for their journeys.
‘Heathrow Express and @TfL Elizabeth Line services are currently suspended due to a fire alert near Paddington,’ the airport’s account posted on X.
Photos posted to social media showed smoke billowing above the Paddington area of north-west London on Saturday evening
‘We advise passengers to allow extra time for their journeys. We apologise for any inconvenience.’
Great Western Railway posted: ‘Due to failure of the electricity supply between London Paddington and Reading, all lines are blocked.
‘Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed. Disruption is expected until 19.00.’
Services were resumed between Paddington and Reading by Sunday morning.
National Rail said on Saturday afternoon that the fire caused an electricity supply failure that blocked railway lines.
But in an update on Sunday morning, it said that disruption to the Elizabeth Line, Heathrow Express and Great Western Railway (GWR) had ended.
The blaze came just hours after staff at Heathrow were forced to close an entire runway following the outbreak of a nearby grass fire.
Firefighters and emergency services rushed to the scene shortly after midday to tackle the blaze, which left smoke billowing above the terminal.
Heathrow’s southern runway was subsequently closed, causing a number of flights to be delayed.
One arriving from San Francisco was diverted away from London to Manchester, while another from San Diego was forced to land in Birmingham.
Flyers took to social media to complain about the disruption, with one writing: ‘The one time I fly from Heathrow, it’s down to one runway and the trains down are disrupted by swans on the tracks. Can’t make it up.’
Another added: ‘Fun morning at London Heathrow Airport with a grass fire being dealt with beside runway 27L.’
It came just hours after a grass fire forced staff at Heathrow Airport to shut the southern runway
Heathrow confirmed that the southern runway reopened later on Saturday in a statement.
It said: ‘Earlier today our teams acted quickly to safely resolve a grass fire adjacent to the southern runway. Thanks to their swift response, the fire was extinguished quickly and both runways are fully operational.
‘A huge thank you to everyone involved. We apologise for any disruption and thank passengers for their patience and understanding. We wish everyone a safe onward journey.’
The London Fire Brigade was approached for comment.
