Elizabeth Line disruption to last all day after trackside fire

A trackside fire on Saturday continues to wreak havoc on the railways today as equipment was destroyed (Picture: X/@networkrailwest)

Londoners face travel misery expected to last all day after a fire wreaked havoc near the railway line.

The Monday morning commute is off to a difficult start after issues on the Elizabeth line.

Vital electrical equipment was damaged in a fire on Saturday, with the effects felt across the Elizabeth line, Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express today.

The fire is understood to have been caused by vandalism along the tracks in west London.

The fire broke out next to the tracks in west London on Saturday (Picture: X/@networkrailwest)

Elizabeth line trains will not run up to Heathrow Terminal T5, while GWR trains will skip Slough, Maidenhead and Twyford as a result.

Meanwhile, Heathrow Express between London Paddington station and the airport will run at a reduced frequency.

Footage shows trackside cables badly damaged by a fire in Kensal Green.

Frustrated commuters took to social media after being caught up in the delays.

One person said on X that ‘can we have a decent Elizabeth Line service’ after ‘yet again delays are blighting me.’

A passenger on a GWR train to Paddington said everyone was told to get off at Maidenhead and take an Elizabeth line service instead, before being told to disembark again due to the disruption affecting both services.

One of the feeder stations is said to have been gutted by the flames (Picture: X/@networkrailwest)

National Rail said: ‘Following an incident on Saturday, where some electrical distribution equipment was damaged in a fire, there are significant effects on train services as a result.’

A free shuttle transfer will operate between Heathrow terminals, but journeys could take longer than usual.

The stretch between Reading and Hayes and Harlington is seeing severe delays because of the incident at Kensal Green.

Transport for London said the disruption was due to ‘vandalism.’

Elsewhere, the Central line has been hit by rush hour delays on the entire line.

This is because of a signal failure at Liverpool Street, which is being fixed, the latest TfL status update says.

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