London rail chaos rumbles on for a FOURTH DAY: Paddington services are suspended again
London rail chaos has spilled over onto a fourth day as passengers face yet more frustration after train services at Paddington station were suspended again.
Great Western Railway (GWR) warned furious passengers that all lines between the west London station and Slough, Berkshire have been blocked due to damage to overhead electric wires. The issue has also delayed trains travelling from Reading and Heathrow Airport.
Disruptions are expected ‘until the end of the day’ despite GWR initially saying it was only expected until 6pm and then later estimating 8pm.
GWR told passengers on social media: ‘Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between London Paddington and Slough some lines towards London Paddington are blocked. Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised.
‘Disruption is expected until 20:00. Ticket acceptance is in place with SWR, Chiltern, TfL on the Elizabeth Line and the London Underground via any reasonable route until further notice.’
But images of stranded passengers at Paddington show an official notice from GWR which reads: ‘Train services running to and from these stations may be cancelled, delayed by up to 90 minutes or revised. Disruption is expected until the end of day.’
Damage to overhead wires at Hayes and Harlington have caused fewer services to run from Paddington throughout the week.
Rail passengers in London face yet more chaos as services at Paddington are suspended due to damage to overhead electric wires
Passengers were seen gathering in front of information boards as they looked to work out their routes home following the delays
It is not the first time Paddington services have been disrupted after there were serious delays following the Queen’s funeral on Monday
Frustrated passengers could be seen frantically searching their phones, while some were taking pictures of the latest announcement by GWR
Great Western Railway warned rail passengers on Twitter that they should expect delays until 8pm but at Paddington notices read that disruption will be until the end of the day
National Rail Enquiries show this evening that all services to and from Paddington are ‘delayed’ or cancelled’.
It is the second time in a week trains have been suspended from the London station after the chaos that ensued on Monday, following the Queen’s funeral when tens of thousands of mourners grappled with cancellations and delays as they tried to journey into the capital to pay their respects.
And today, as has been seen all week, furious rail passengers vented on social media, questioning why this has been a common occurrence and whether they will be able to get compensation for the delays.
One man revealed that his birthday had been ‘ruined’ by a lack of communication. He said: ‘@GWRHelp I’m going to miss my theatre performance tonight because I wasn’t informed of the delays at Didcot before I got on the train to Paddington. How do I reclaim the cost of the theatre tickets? By the way, your lack of communication has completely ruined a birthday treat.’
Another user who had booked to come watch a performance in the capital said: ‘@gwr and @tfl have a lot to answer for as the line into and out of Paddington is experiencing delays again. Going to miss the theatre performance I was so excited to see and no chance of them refunding me.’
A third added, with a meme saying ‘ughhhh’: ‘More overhead line issues mean more train delays. Currently no trains leaving Paddington! #GWR’.
A fourth said: ‘I swear the overhead wires break down on a weekly basis now’.
And another frustrated passenger said: ‘Total disaster with #gwr trains this wk! Come on!!’
Damaged overhead wires near Hayes and Harlington (pictured) has caused ongoing severe disruption
Furious rail passengers have vented on social media to question how they will get their money back. Others praised the staff for keeping everyone updated despite the fourth day of London rail chaos
Some rail passengers were quick to highlight that despite the frustrating delays, train staff have been ‘fantastic’.
One man said: ‘More loooong delays between Paddington and Reading @GWRHelp. Your staff, however, have been fantastic.’
Another added: ‘@GWRHelp the delays out of Paddington are unfortunate but your train manager on the Carmarthen service has been fantastic keeping everyone regularly updated. Thank you.’
Just yesterday, a third day of rail chaos saw issues at Stevenage and Hayes and Harlington causing problems for services through London Kings Cross, Paddington and Moorgate, some of the capital’s busiest railway stations.
Damage to overhead wires at Hayes and Harlington meant fewer services were able to run from Paddington station to destinations in the west on Tuesday as well, including destinations in Wales, and south-west England, as well as Heathrow Airport.
The station closed at 10pm to allow engineers to complete repairs, cancelling all GWR and Heathrow Express services in and out of London Paddington until 6am on Wednesday.
Those travelling towards points north and south of the capital, including destinations in the far north and Scotland as well as central and southern England, have been coping with cancellations and severe delays due to the damage at Stevenage.
Train information boards at Kings Cross station last night (September 20) showed no services were leaving the terminus
The problem in the area arose at around 6.30am on Monday after a number of trains became entangled,.
All four lines serving Paddington reopened on Tuesday morning after a 27-hour suspension, but the wires were only working above two of them.
The damage at Hayes and Harlington meant a day of mayhem for mourners who were travelling to London for the Queen’s state funeral.
The problem caused thousands of mourners to miss the funeral service or to resort to watching it on phones in carriages and on platforms.
Roads in and around the capital were closed for Her Majesty’s funeral and subsequent procession to Windsor Castle, while rail services saw greater than normal passenger numbers as millions descended on the capital to watch.