A fire near London's Paddington station on Saturday afternoon caused significant disruption to rail services, including those traveling to and from Heathrow Airport. The blaze led to an electricity supply failure, blocking all lines between the station and Heathrow, National Rail reported.
As a result, Heathrow Express and Reading overground services were suspended. Transport for London stated that the Elizabeth Line experienced a suspension between Paddington and Heathrow terminals four and five, with severe delays on the line to Abbey Wood. Great Western Railway warned of potential cancellations, delays, or early terminations of services, with disruption expected until at least 7 p.m.
Airport officials advised passengers traveling to Heathrow to allow extra time for their journeys, with the airport's official account posting on X that both Heathrow Express and the Elizabeth Line services were suspended due to the fire alert near Paddington.
This incident occurred just hours after Heathrow Airport staff were forced to close the southern runway due to a nearby grass fire. Firefighters responded to the grass fire, which generated smoke visible above the terminal. The southern runway was temporarily closed, leading to flight delays. One flight from San Francisco was diverted to Manchester, and another from San Diego landed in Birmingham. Heathrow confirmed that the southern runway reopened later on Saturday, stating that the fire was quickly extinguished and both runways were operational.
