A grass fire next to railway tracks at Scrubs Lane, North Kensington, caused an electricity supply failure shortly after 16:00 BST on Saturday, September 5, 2026, blocking all lines between London Paddington station, Heathrow Airport terminals, and Reading.
Train services halted between Heathrow and Paddington
The fire forced the suspension of the Elizabeth Line, Heathrow Express, and Great Western Railway services on affected routes. No trains operated between London Paddington and Heathrow on Saturday evening, and Great Western Railway cancelled its services to Reading.
Firefighting response and passenger evacuation
The London Fire Brigade deployed six fire engines and approximately 40 firefighters to tackle the blaze near Scrubs Lane. Transport for London worked
with fire crews to evacuate around 380 passengers stranded on an Elizabeth Line train connected to the incident.
Service resumption and operational challenges
The fire was extinguished by Sunday morning, September 6, allowing train services to gradually resume. Elizabeth Line trains remained suspended between London Paddington and Ealing Broadway until 07:40 BST, after which services to Maidenhead and Reading operated on an amended timetable. Great Western Railway resumed running a reduced local service between London Paddington, Reading, and Didcot Parkway. Network Rail Western cautioned that some Sunday services could face delays or cancellations due to displaced trains resulting from the previous day’s disruption.
Transport for
London and Heathrow Airport advised passengers to allow extra travel time amid ongoing disruptions. Earlier on Saturday, Heathrow’s southern runway also temporarily closed due to a separate grass fire on the airfield, causing at least two flights to be diverted.
The Met Office’s Fire Severity Index rated fire risk as “exceptional” in parts of London including Heathrow, reflecting ongoing wildfire concerns in southeast England despite recent cooler weather.
National Rail confirmed the power failure was caused by the fire next to the track, leading to full blockage of rail lines between London Paddington, Heathrow terminals, and Reading. Great Western Railway
apologized for the disruption and noted services were returning to normal the following day. Heathrow Airport reported the airfield fire was extinguished rapidly and asked passengers to expect delays.
Great Western Railway posted on social media: “These images from today’s lineside fire, which caused significant disruption to services in and out of London Paddington, show what our engineers, and firefighters from @LondonFire, had to deal with. Disruption is likely to continue into Sunday so please check before travelling.”
Pre-planned engineering work on Sunday morning also affected the Elizabeth Line and Great Western Railway, contributing to additional schedule changes during service
recovery.
