Derailed train causes major disruption out of Paddington

A normal service is now operating on Great Western Railway between London Paddington and Oxford, between London Paddington and Reading, between London Paddington and Cardiff Central and between London Paddington and Penzance. The problems were called by a derailed train and damage to overhead wires and signalling.

Work continues to fix the problems, but Great Western Railway are now able to operate a full service. Heathrow Express are now running a half hourly service, with no Heathrow Connect service on Sunday.

Rail services are disrupted for a third day following the derailment of a train outside Paddington on Thursday evening.

It means fewer services for many passengers in the Thames Valley.

The train which passed a red signal and crashed into a set of points has has now been moved. Engineers will spend Sunday repairing the track so that services can be back to normal on Monday.

Latest updates on the National Rail website.

A derailed train at Paddington Station is causing chaos for commuters from the Thames Valley. It happened when an empty train passed a red signal.

Half of Great Western Railway's services on Friday evening have been cancelled, as the train won't be removed from the track until Saturday. Our Transport Correspondent Mike Pearse reports.

Dan Panes of Great Western Railway describes the disruption caused by the derailed train at Paddington.

Tens of thousands of passengers in the Thames Valley have been hit with major disruption after services were cancelled to and from Paddington.

The problems were caused by an empty train derailing at the London station yesterday. The incident meant that two Heathrow Express trains were stuck outside Paddington - blocking the main lines into the station. Thousands of passengers were left stranded or seriously delayed.

Great Western Railways are running a limited service to and from London Paddington, causing "extreme disruption" for passengers.

It comes after a non-passenger train derailed at London Paddington last night, causing damage to signalling and the overhead wires.

The firm has issued information for passengers, advising of the following alterations:

• No Heathrow Connect service will run.
• Heathrow Express service will run every 30 minutes.
• Pre-booked Heathrow Connect tickets will be accepted on these services.
• Services between London Paddington and Greenford will now start / terminate at West Ealing.
• Services between London Paddington and Bedwyn will now start / terminate at Reading.
• Services from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads at 30 minutes past the hour will not run.
• Services from Bristol Temple Meads to London Paddington on the hour will not run.
• Services from London Paddington to Cardiff Central at 15 minutes past the hour will not run.
• Services from Cardiff Central to London Paddington at 55 minutes past the hour will not run.
• Services between London Paddington and Cheltenham Spa will not run.
• Some services between London Paddington and Reading will call additionally at West Ealing and Hanwell.

Great Western Railway have issued the following alternative travel options, saying passengers may use:

• Tickets dated 16 June
• Arriva Trains Wales services between Hereford and Newport
• CrossCountry services between Banbury and Basingstoke
• Chiltern Railways between London Marylebone and Oxford Parkway / Banbury
• South West Trains on any reasonable route
• Virgin Trains between London Euston and Birmingham New Street
• London Underground on any reasonable route
• London Buses on any reasonable route
• London Midland services between Hereford / Worcester / London Euston and Birmingham New Street.

Rail passengers in the Thames Valley face "extreme disruption" this morning - with half of Great Western services likely to be cancelled.

A empty train derailed at Paddington station last night - closing lines in and out of the station. London-bound commuters are being urged to travel in to different stations. Services towards Oxford, Twyford and Reading are also affected.

GWR have issued the following statement giving travel advice:

The derailment of an empty train outside of Paddington earlier this evening has caused significant disruption to train services this evening.

Some of the overhead line equipment has been damaged and is currently being assessed by Network Rail engineers, however trains are currently only able to access three of the six lines into and out of Paddington Station.

Passengers have been asked to use alternative routes via Waterloo and Marylebone where GWR tickets will be valid for travel.

Customers who choose not to travel this evening will be able to use their tickets tomorrow.

A GWR spokesman said: "We're sorry for the disruption this incident has caused to customers this evening. We are working with Network Rail to get things back to normal as safely and quickly as possible, however train services are likely to be affected tomorrow morning.

At the moment, we expect to be able to run around half our normal service into and out of Paddington tomorrow. We hope this will improve as further progress is made overnight and we would ask customers to check before travelling tomorrow morning.

Details of refunds can be found online at: https://www.gwr.com/help-and-support/refunds-and-compensation

Network Rail staff will work overnight to try to repair the damage caused by tonight's derailment but there may be some disruption in the morning.

Details of the incident are becoming clear.

ITV News understands a train passed a red signal and crashed into a set of points. It was empty and there were no injuries. Carriages were derailed and collided with a gantry that carries overhead wires just outside Paddington Station.

The overhead electric cables were brought down stranding two Heathrow Express trains. This in turn blocked the lines into Paddington will most services cancelled or delayed.

One passenger tweeted video of the derailed train-click on the link to see it:

Tens of thousands of passenger were hit.

All Heathrow Express trains are suspended. Most Great Western services are not running to Paddington but starting at Slough or Reading.

Passengers are asked to check before they travel in the morning.