Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express services between London Paddington and Heathrow were fully restored by 11:56am on Wednesday (11 November), National Rail confirmed, after a person died on the tracks near Hanwell station in west London earlier that morning and disrupted rail links to the airport for more than five hours.
National Rail's official incident log for the route says the problem was first reported at 6:33am and marked cleared at 11:56am, with lines between Reading, Heathrow Airport and London Paddington now fully reopened. The log confirms Elizabeth line, Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express services were all affected.
My London's live travel blog reported that British Transport Police were called to the scene at Hanwell station shortly before 6:25am. Officers confirmed a person had died after being hit by a train and said the death is being treated as non-suspicious. Police said they would not be releasing the person's age or gender.
While emergency services dealt with the incident, the Elizabeth line was suspended between Paddington and the Heathrow terminals, and towards Reading. Heathrow Express services between Terminal 5 and Paddington were cancelled. Great Western Railway services between Windsor & Eton Central and Slough were also cancelled because train crew could not reach that route while the main line was blocked. London Underground accepted Elizabeth line tickets on alternative routes while the disruption lasted.
According to My London's rolling updates, the Elizabeth line began recovering from around 10:48am, with services returning to normal and only minor residual delays continuing on the Paddington to Heathrow and Reading stretch into early afternoon. By the time National Rail marked the incident cleared at 11:56am, Heathrow Express had also resumed running between Terminal 5 and Paddington.
Heathrow Airport's own flight schedules were not reported as affected at any point. This was a disruption to the rail links serving the airport rather than to flights themselves, meaning passengers already at the airport or checked in were not directly affected.
Anyone who travelled to or from Heathrow by rail on Wednesday morning and was caught up in lengthy delays should keep any travel receipts, since delay repay compensation may be available from the relevant train operator.
What this means for your journey: rail links to Heathrow are back to normal, but if you are travelling to catch a flight soon after a morning of this kind of disruption, build in some extra buffer time and check live departure boards before you leave. See our guide to [public transport](/public-transport/) options for getting to and from the airport.