Major disruption as grass fire halts all trains to Heathrow Airport

A grass fire beside the railway caused major disruption to Heathrow Airport services, blocking all lines between London Paddington and Heathrow’s terminals, as well as Reading. National Rail said delays and cancellations would continue until the end of Saturday.

The incident began shortly after 16:00 BST near Scrubs Lane in North Kensington. London Fire Brigade sent six fire engines and about 40 crew members to tackle the blaze. The fire caused an electricity supply failure, stopping services on the affected routes.

Great Western Railway cancelled its services to Reading. No Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express trains ran between Paddington and Heathrow on Saturday night. The airport advised passengers to allow extra time, while the Piccadilly line also reported delays. Images posted on social media showed crowds of stranded passengers at Paddington.

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major disruption

The rail disruption came hours after a separate grass fire on Heathrow’s airfield closed the southern runway. At least two flights were diverted, although Heathrow said crews extinguished the fire quickly and apologised for the disruption.

The airport has experienced another grass fire near the southern runway in recent weeks, when 18 flights were diverted and a large area of grassland was destroyed. Fire crews continue to warn of wildfire risks. The Met Office’s Fire Severity Index rated the potential severity as high across most of south-east England and parts of the Midlands, and exceptional in some areas of London, including Heathrow, as well as along the Essex and Suffolk coasts.

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a failure of the electricity supply caused by a fire next to the track