Major disruption as grass fire halts all trains to Heathrow Airport. Trains to and from Heathrow Airport have been halted after a trackside grass fire caused delays and cancellations. National Rail reported a major disruption expected until the end of Saturday due to a fire near the track between London Paddington station and Heathrow's terminals, as well as Reading.
The fire caused a failure of the electricity supply. Pictures showed stranded passengers at Paddington. London Fire Brigade deployed six fire engines and around 40 crew members to tackle the blaze near Scrubs Lane, North Kensington.
Great Western Railway cancelled services to Reading, and no Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express services were running between Paddington and Heathrow on Saturday night. Heathrow advised passengers to leave extra time for their journeys, noting delays on the Piccadilly line. Earlier, Heathrow's southern runway was closed due to a separate grass fire, diverting at least two flights.
Heathrow apologized for the disruption, stating the fire was extinguished quickly. This follows a previous grass fire near Heathrow's southern runway weeks prior, which diverted 18 flights and destroyed large grassland areas. The Met Office's Fire Severity Index indicates high fire severity risks in south-east England and parts of the Midlands, with exceptional severity in London, Essex, and Suffolk.
Source: BBC