Glastonbury Festival revelers traveling to Somerset faced travel chaos from London Paddington today after all lines were blocked due to a fatal accident at the circuit.
The person died in West Ealing in west London, resulting in mass cancellations on the Elizabeth Line, Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express services.
Those traveling to Glastonbury will use Paddington to get to Castle Cary station, while commuters heading to the capital for work were also affected by the disruption.
There was no Elizabeth service between Paddington and Reading or Heathrow Airport, and cancellations or delays of up to an hour were expected until 1pm.
An initial travel update from National Rail stated that the delays were due to someone being ‘hit by a train’, but MailOnline has since established that this was not the case.
And a witness in West Ealing told MailOnline that a pedestrian bridge over the line, known locally as ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, had been closed by police while they investigated.
British Transport Police later confirmed that its officers were called to the scene at around 7.30am today following “reports of a casualty on the track”. Police said paramedics also attended but “sadly a person was pronounced dead at the scene”.
Ian Mansfield, who runs popular culture and transport website IanVisits, tweeted: ‘Major delays on the Elizabeth line due to a fatal accident on the tracks outside Paddington.
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‘There was only one train going through Woolwich, so it was like there was some kind of Last Flight Out Of Saigon on the platform when the train came in.’
Another commuter said on
And passenger Filippo Spiga said he heard an announcement saying: ‘There are no trains leaving London Paddington, all passengers must return to the concourse.’
A spokesperson for British Transport Police told MailOnline: ‘Officers were called to the line at West Ealing at around 7.30am today following reports of a casualty on the track.
‘Paramedics also attended, but unfortunately one person was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is not being treated as suspicious and a file is being prepared for the coroner.”
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GWR trains on all routes were affected, including to Didcot, Oxford, Hereford, Cheltenham, Worcester, Cardiff, Swansea, Bedwyn, Bristol, Taunton, Plymouth, Paignton and Newquay and Penzance – as well as the West Ealing to Greenford line.
Those affected by the delays on the Elizabeth line were instead advised to use the Docklands Light Railway, Underground or London Buses via a reasonable route.
Passengers were also told to use Southeastern trains between Abbey Wood and London terminals, or South Western Railway between London Waterloo and Reading and Thameslink between Abbey Wood and Farringdon.
GWR had ticket acceptance at CrossCountry, Chiltern Railways between Marylebone and Oxford and South Western Railway between London Waterloo and Reading, Windsor and Eton Riverside and Basingstoke.
Tickets were also accepted on Stagecoach buses between Swindon and Trowbridge, Cheltenham, Chippenham and Oxford.
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A Network Rail spokeswoman told MailOnline: ‘Train services to and from London Paddington were disrupted this morning while emergency services dealt with an incident in the West Ealing area.
‘All lines have now reopened, but there will be further disruption as we work to restore the service. Trains may be cancelled, delayed or revised.
‘Passengers are advised to contact their train operator or National Rail Inquiries before travel.’
It comes as thousands of fans are now arriving at Glastonbury after it officially started yesterday, although the main stages at Worthy Farm won’t open until tomorrow.
Pop singer Dua Lipa will headline the Pyramid Stage tomorrow before rock band Coldplay and soul singer SZA take to the famous stage on Saturday and Sunday.
Canadian country star Shania Twain will play the coveted Legends slot on Sunday afternoon.
Hundreds of musicians will also perform today on several smaller stages across the site with acts including singer and DJ Shygirl and electronic musician Joy Orbison, both of whom will appear on dance stage Levels.
GWR said earlier this month that it plans to make more than 28,600 seats on trains from Paddington to Castle Cary available to festival goers between yesterday and tomorrow.
It warned that the early and mid-morning trains were almost fully booked today.
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