A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a grass fire near London Paddington station on Saturday afternoon knocked out rail links to Heathrow, forcing nearly 400 passengers to be evacuated from a train that lost power when overhead cables caught alight.
British Transport Police said the man was arrested and has since been bailed, according to BBC News. The fire broke out near Scrubs Lane in North Kensington shortly after 4pm on Saturday 5 September, prompting a large response from London Fire Brigade.
The blaze damaged electrical distribution equipment feeding the tracks between Paddington and Heathrow, according to National Rail's official incident report for the Kensal Green area. This caused disruption for three train operators serving the airport: the Elizabeth line, Heathrow Express, and Great Western Railway.
Elizabeth line services were unable to reach Heathrow Terminal 5 for much of the weekend, with journeys terminating short and passengers advised to use the Piccadilly line or replacement buses instead. Heathrow Express ran a reduced service, and Great Western Railway trains toward Reading were cancelled or revised, with some services diverted to run only between Reading and Didcot Parkway or Newbury.
National Rail said the disruption was expected to continue until the end of Monday 7 September as Network Rail engineers worked to repair the damaged equipment.