A fire at commercial premises in London has blocked the West Coast Main Line. The significant blaze, in the north London suburb of Chalk Farm, is adjacent to the tracks and has forced the authorities to close the railway for safety. The fire was reported just after 0930 this morning and is being treated as a major incident. Multiple passenger operators are affected, and freight – particularly intermodal services which use this part of the line are suspended or diverted.
The London Fire Brigade has deployed ten fire appliances and a squad of around 70 personnel to a fire on Regent’s Park Road, in the heavily populated north central suburbs of London. The location is a little more than a kilometre from Euston station, the London terminus of the West Coast Main Line. Reports vary, but services on the railway are expected to remain suspended until late this afternoon (30 January).
All stop at Euston
Lineside fires can be a real issue for the railway. That’s the situation in London today. Commercial properties on Regent’s Park Road in Chalk Farm are ablaze, and that road runs up to the tracks of the West Coast Main Line, just a matter of metres away from the flames. “A single-storey commercial building is alight. Most of a neighbouring property is also alight,” said a London Fire Brigade spokesperson. “Adelaide Road [alongside the tracks] is closed. Due to the fire’s proximity to the railway, some lines between London Euston and Watford Junction are subject to delays or cancellations.”
The West Coast Main Line is a vital passenger route, but it is also critical to freight movements across London. The intensive nature of the timetable around London makes extensive diversion and rescheduling difficult. The hope is that the nature of the blockage will be short-lived and that the relatively few freight services can be rescheduled. Passengers, however, will have no such luck, with wholesale cancellations out of Euston and southbound services being terminated at Watford Junction, 17 miles (27 km) northwest of London Euston.
Wider disruption
Services on a west London route that connects passengers and freight between Clapham Junction and Watford Junction are also suspended. National Rail Enquiries, the official information service, says that there will be significant disruption. “The fire brigade is dealing with an incident near the railway between London Euston and Watford Junction,” said their statement. “[That] means that some lines are blocked. As a result, trains running between Clapham Junction / London Euston and Watford Junction, between Richmond / Clapham Junction and Stratford (London) and also between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside may be cancelled, severely delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised. Major disruption is expected until 15:00.”
The event of the blaze has meant the deployment of large scale fire fighting equipment. “One of the Brigade’s 32-metre turntable ladders is being used at the scene to help fight the fire from above,” a London Fire Brigade officer told us. “Control Officers took the first of multiple calls at 0931 and have mobilised crews from Kentish Town, Holloway and West Hampstead fire stations to the scene. The cause of the fire is not yet known.”
Britain’s railways are burning. Just last week, a fire affected the Transpennine Route at Standedge Tunnel. See also today’s RailFreight.com Friday Column for commentary on the effects of infrastructure constraints during incidents of disruption.