A grass fire near Scrubs Lane in North Kensington on Saturday, 5 September 2026, caused an electricity supply failure that blocked all rail lines between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport terminals. The fire started shortly after 16:00 BST and was called in by London Fire Brigade just after 16:10 BST.
The blaze forced the suspension of train services including Elizabeth Line, Heathrow Express, and Great Western Railway (GWR) connecting Paddington with Heathrow and Reading. Approximately 380 passengers were evacuated from a stranded Elizabeth Line train by the London Fire Brigade and Transport for London (TfL).
London Fire Brigade deployed six
fire engines and approximately 40 firefighters to tackle the fire near Scrubs Lane. Network Rail Western confirmed the fire was extinguished late on Saturday but warned disruption was expected to continue into Sunday morning.
On Sunday morning, train services resumed with delays and amended schedules. Pre-planned engineering work closed lines between Paddington and Burnham and between Paddington and Ealing Broadway, causing Elizabeth Line services between Paddington and Ealing Broadway to be suspended until 07:40 BST. Afterwards, Elizabeth Line services to Maidenhead and Reading operated on revised timetables. Great Western Railway ran a reduced local service between Paddington, Reading, and Didcot
Parkway.
A separate power cut at Manor Park on Sunday morning resulted in trains running non-stop between Ilford and Forest Gate, bypassing Manor Park station. Additionally, an earlier grass fire at Heathrow’s airfield on Saturday morning temporarily closed the southern runway and caused diversion of at least two flights.
Heathrow Airport advised passengers to allow extra travel time due to delays on rail and Piccadilly line services. National Rail reported the disruption to Elizabeth Line, Heathrow Express, and GWR services caused by the fire had ended by Sunday morning, though some delays and amended schedules persisted.
