London fire crews halted trains between London and Stansted Airport after multiple trackside fires near Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire. Greater Anglia said at 14:57 BST that all trains had to stop on one line after the fires moved close to the tracks.
The London Fire Brigade used 14 engines on a grass fire near Lea Road in Waltham Abbey. At the height of that blaze, about 14 hectares of grassland was alight, and the fire service said just after 17:00 that it was under control.
Greater Anglia at 14:57 BST
Greater Anglia said the stoppage affected trains between London and Stansted Airport and services to and from Cambridge North, Meridian Water in Hertfordshire and Hertford East. Trains could be delayed, cancelled or diverted via Seven Sisters, and services to and from London Liverpool Street and Stratford were also included.
For people travelling to Stansted Airport, Greater Anglia told them to take a train from London Kings Cross to Cambridge and then down to the airport. Passengers could do that at no extra cost if they had already bought a ticket.
Lea Road in Waltham Abbey
The London Fire Brigade said crews used water backpacks and wildfire beaters to tackle the fire near Lea Road in Waltham Abbey. Smoke also affected traffic on the M25, and National Highways said one lane of the anti-clockwise carriageway between Enfield and Waltham Abbey was shut for investigation and repairs because of the fire.
Greater Anglia said Network Rail officers were on site and working as quickly as possible to restore train services to normal. Although the fire was later under control, trains on the affected line were still halted while services were being restored.
London and Stansted Airport
The disruption hit a key airport rail link and spread across several other routes at the same time. The immediate focus for passengers is the diversion advice and the return of services, but the cause of the trackside fires was not given in the available information.
