Hundreds of passengers have been stuck on cold, dark trains in west London for hours as travellers suffered significant delays due to damaged overhead electric cables.
All trains have been stopped between London Paddington and Reading, Network Rail Western confirmed. Great Western Railway said disruption was expected on the London Paddington to Reading line until the end of Thursday. The disruption also affects the Elizabeth line.
Heathrow said there were no Heathrow Express or Elizabeth Line services to or from the airport, adding: “The Piccadilly line service is operating as normal, but may be busier than usual. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Network Rail said in a statement: “We’ve had to stop all services while our engineers work as fast as they can to fix the issue. Our teams are also working with train operators to assist people on the trains affected.
“We’d urge people onboard to follow all the advice from staff while this incident is ongoing. Anyone planning to travel tonight should check National Rail Enquiries for the latest on the disruption.
“If you are on an affected train, please stay where you are until the emergency services or railway workers give you further instructions. If you are attempting to travel, please use alternative routes, by using National Rail Enquiries.”
In response to one person who asked on X what Network Rail was doing for the hundreds of people stuck on trains outside Paddington, the company replied: “We are waiting for an update on how long it will take to fix the problem. Due to the high-risk nature of the repair work, it may take a considerable amount of time for repairs to be completed. Apologies for the delays today.”
Network Rail added that the problem was caused by a train striking an “obstruction between Paddington and Acton mainline”, causing damage to the overhead wires.
A video posted by 999London on X showed a dark carriage in which a woman can be heard saying: “Oh, my days, I never, ever had this.” The post said: “Hundreds of freezing passengers have been trapped for over two hours on Elizabeth Line trains in the Paddington area of west London after a power failure.
“Some passengers are forcing doors open to exit the trains [and] using their phones as torches.”
Another user on X said she had spent “nearly three hours” just outside Paddington.
By 10.30pm, some people were able to disembark from the stranded trains. Rachel Riley, the Countdown presenter, posted on X: “Nearly 4 hours after we got on, we’re getting off the Elizabeth line, woohoo!”
The transport secretary, Mark Harper, said on X: “Aware of a serious incident involving overhead wires outside Paddington, with a number of trains stationary on the tracks.”
Chiltern Railways and South Western Railway were accepting tickets on parts of their networks. Customers were also told they could use their tickets on London Underground “via any reasonable route” and parts of the London bus network. Thameslink, Southeastern and the Docklands Light Railway will also accept the tickets on some journeys.
National Rail added on X that Elizabeth line passengers west of West Drayton could also book a taxi and reclaim the fare at a later date via the TfL website.
