London Euston: Third fire in a year closes West Coast main line

Passengers urged to use other routes to reach their destinations, or travel on Saturday instead

Rail hub: Euston Station, the fifth busiest in Britain (Simon Calder)

Tens of thousands of Friday evening rail travellers faced delays of several hours following a complete shutdown of trains serving London Euston.

A large fire in an industrial building next to the railway near Wembley Central led Network Rail to close all lines in and out of Euston, the fifth-busiest station in Britain.

Around 60 firefighters tackled a fire in an industrial estate on East Lane, Wembley, during the afternoon. Following the identification of gas canisters in the area of the fire, all rail services were stopped at 7.55pm.

Steve Helfet, head of West Coast services for London Northwestern Railway, said: “We apologise to customers for delays to train services this evening caused by an industrial fire in the Wembley area.

“We are unable to run trains until the fire brigade declares it safe to do so, so at this time cannot give any estimate for resumption of normal service.”

Services resumed at 9.40pm, but at reduced speeds. Severe delays and many cancellations were expected for the rest of the day’s service.

Normally around 10 long-distance West Coast main line trains an hour arrive at and depart from Euston, as well as many suburban commuter services.

Virgin Trains urged travellers to find another route to their destinations, and has arranged for tickets to be accepted on other train operators.

Between London and Birmingham, the recommended route was Chiltern to and from Marylebone. For Manchester, one option was East Midlands Trains from St Pancras to Sheffield and a connection across the Pennines.

Carlisle and Glasgow passengers were able to travel on Virgin Trains East Coast to Newcastle and Edinburgh respectively.

Passengers with tickets for Friday will be able to use them on Saturday.

Friday evening is extremely busy with business travellers and weekenders. The Caledonian Sleeper service to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William, due out at 9.15pm, was one of many trains stuck at a platform.

The West Coast main line has been plagued by lineside fires. In September 2017 a blaze near Harrow blocked all lines in and out of Euston, while in April 2017 a fire at South Hampstead shut down rail services during the evening rush hour.