Chaos unfolded near Burnham late on Wednesday night when a fire broke out in the driver’s cab of a train, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded. Emergency crews arrived just before midnight to tackle the blaze and secure the area.
The fire erupted on a train heading towards London Paddington, prompting a major emergency response involving firefighters, British Transport Police, and South Central Ambulance Service. Fortunately, all passengers on board the affected Fife Ted service were reported safe and well.
Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames using CO2 extinguishers and a hose reel, preventing the fire from spreading further. Group Manager Dom Manton, RBFRS Incident Commander, said: “The response to this fire was very well organised, ensuring that passengers were kept safe at all times. We worked closely with rail incident officers, British Transport Police and ambulance crews to deal with the incident quickly.”
Network Rail confirmed that all lines near Burnham were blocked as fire crews battled the blaze. This disruption severely affected key routes, including Heathrow Express, Heathrow Connect, and Great Western Railway services.
Trains running between Reading, Heathrow Airport, Slough, Maidenhead, and London Paddington faced delays of up to 90 minutes or were cancelled. Disruption is expected to continue until at least 3-4am as crews inspect the damage and clear the defective train. A Network Rail spokesperson warned: “All lines are currently blocked, so disruption is expected out of Paddington. The fire near Burnham has majorly affected services.”
Fire Control received the first reports of the blaze just after 11.20pm. Crews from Slough, Maidenhead, Bracknell, and Aylesbury stations were dispatched to the scene. After extinguishing the fire, the train was moved to Slough Fire Station for passenger evacuation and then taken to a storage bay near Paddington for a thorough safety check by the London Fire Brigade.
The swift and coordinated efforts of the fire brigade and partner agencies prevented what could have been a much worse disaster.
Originally published by UKNIP.
