Commuters in west London are facing delays following a freight train derailment in West Ealing at around 6:10 BST on Friday. National Rail has warned that the disruption may last until midday. A National Rail spokesman stated that the derailment occurred as a freight train approaching West Ealing passed a red signal, causing three wheels of the locomotive to come off the tracks. Although the derailment resulted in no injuries, the affected adjacent lines were closed for safety reasons. One line has since been reopened to passenger trains, and experts are assessing the situation with the freight train to determine if the second adjacent line can be reopened safely.
The disruption is affecting passengers travelling between Paddington, Reading, and Heathrow Airport. Overground services, including the Elizabeth line and the Heathrow Express, have also been affected. In a statement, National Rail warned that trains on these routes could be delayed, cancelled, or diverted. Passengers travelling on Heathrow Express trains between London Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 5 may also face delays.
The derailment came after Network Rail announced last month that it planned to develop a recovery plan for the Reading-London Paddington route. The overhaul of the route has been planned in three phases and will take 18 months to complete. This follows months of poor train performance on the Reading-London Paddington route. In December, the route experienced further disruptions when broken wires left 4,000 passengers stranded on trains for four hours at night near Ladbroke Grove.
Public transportation passengers in the affected areas are advised to allow for extra time when travelling and to check for service updates on National Rail’s website and social media accounts
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