Rail services at London’s Paddington station were temporarily suspended following a tragic incident where a person was struck and killed by a train. British Transport Police (BTP) received a report about the incident near Iver station in Buckinghamshire at approximately 7:15 am on Thursday.
The unfortunate incident resulted in the closure of all railway lines between Paddington and Reading, leading to significant disruptions in services provided by Great Western Railway (GWR), Elizabeth Line, and Heathrow Express.
While some rail lines were reopened by 10 am, residual delays and cancellations persisted, causing inconvenience to commuters. Paddington Station, known as the UK’s second busiest railway station, was at the centre of the service suspension.
A spokesman for the British Transport Police stated, “Officers were called to the line near Iver railway station at around 7:15 am today following reports of a casualty on the tracks. Paramedics also attended; however, sadly, a person was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is not being treated as suspicious, and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”
In a statement, GWR expressed its condolences, saying, “It is with great sadness that we report a person has been struck by a train. Some lines have now reopened to allow the movement of trains once again, but it will take a while to reintroduce a full service. Until that is in place, where we can, we will divert trains to run on other lines around the affected area. There may be certain instances of trains being held at stations some distance from the incident. This is due to congestion, and such action will avoid any trains becoming stranded in open country.
Disruptions were expected to continue until 11 am. GWR added, “It is necessary to bring all trains in the affected area to an immediate stop.”
The incident added to recent challenges faced by London Paddington station, which was closed for engineering work in the preceding four days and had experienced several infrastructure faults in the weeks leading up to this unfortunate event
