Chaos at Heathrow as burst water pipe causes train cancellations
Passengers are facing major travel disruption travelling to and from Heathrow airport after a burst pipe ground train services to a halt earlier today.
Transport for London said there were no services on the Elizabeth Line between Hayes and Harlington and Heathrow due to a signal failure caused by flooding at Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3.
The Heathrow Express was also affected by the pipe troubles.
There is also no Piccadilly line service to the airport due to planned engineering works.
Heathrow Express posted on X: “Due to a significant incident outside of our control, there are currently no Heathrow Express services running. We are actively working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Services are now beginning to resume on the Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express but the airport warned passengers to allow for extra time “due to the incident”.
Half term chaos
Families looking to travel for the half-term weekend found themeselves caught up in the disruption, with many passengers taking to social media to air their frustrations.
One user on X said they were forced to take “two buses and a train” after finding the Elizabeth line flooded, while another was forced to go from Paddington via Reading on a bus.
Another urged passengers to get taxis, claiming the replacements buses from TfL were failing to get passengers to the terminals.
The user wrote: “Get a taxi. If you take a replacement bus as directed by Tfl you end up stranded at Heathrow Central bus station with NO internal transfer options.
“It’s full meltdown here.”
Heathrow airport is the busiest in the UK and Europe, and only last year it recorded its busiest-ever day, with more than a quarter of a million passengers passing through its four terminals on 1 August.