Major disruption as grass fire halts all trains to Heathrow Airport

Grass fire brings rail traffic to Heathrow to a standstill A blaze beside the tracks forced the suspension of all train services to and from Heathrow Airport on Saturday afternoon. National Rail announced that "major disruption" was expected until the extremity of Saturday pursuing the incidental which began soon aft 16:00 BST. A spokesperson explained that each line was blocked betwixt London Paddington presumption and Heathrow's terminals, arsenic good arsenic Reading, owed to "a nonaccomplishment of the energy proviso caused by a occurrence adjacent to the track". The rail disruption follows an earlier incident on the airfield, where a fire on Heathrow's southern runway led to its closure earlier in the day. Images shared on social media depicted large crowds of stranded passengers at Paddington, one of the capital’s principal interchange hubs. London Fire Brigade reported that six fire engines and roughly 40 firefighters were engaged in tackling the blaze near Scrubs Lane, North Kensington. Great Western Railway cancelled its services to Reading, and no Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express trains operated between Paddington and Heathrow on Saturday night. Heathrow advised travellers to allow extra time for their journeys, noting that the Piccadilly line, which provides rail links to the airport, was also experiencing delays. Later Saturday, the airport’s southern runway was shut while crews dealt with a fire occurrence on the airfield. The incident resulted in at least two flights being diverted elsewhere. Heathrow apologised for immoderate disruption and said the occurrence was extinguished quickly. This event comes just weeks after another fire near the southern runway compelled 18 flights to divert and destroyed a substantial tract of grassland. Although winds have eased across much of the UK in recent days following record‑breaking summer temperatures, fire services continue to warn of lingering wildfire risks. According to the Met Office's Fire Severity Index, a potential wildfire would be rated "high" across most of south‑east England and parts of the Midlands. The index presently reads "exceptional", the highest level on the scale, for several areas of London including Heathrow, as well as stretches of the Essex and Suffolk coasts.