Travel chaos for commuters in wake of massive fire at Acton Town station

1 February 2022, 18:32 | Updated: 2 February 2022, 08:26

Fire breaks out near Acton Town station.mp4

Commuters on the District Line face lengthy delays this morning after a massive fire at Acton Town station on Tuesday night.

The line is closed between Turnham Green and Ealing Broadway due to an "ongoing fire brigade investigation", Transport for London (TfL) said.

There are severe delays on the rest of the line due to an unrelated issue.

The Piccadilly Line, which also runs through Acton Town station, is open as normal.

"District Line: No service between Turnham Green and Ealing Broadway due to an ongoing fire brigade investigation and SEVERE DELAYS on the rest of the line due to an earlier track fault at Putney Bridge," reads the travel update on the TfL website.

"Tickets are being accepted on local buses, C2C, and Southwestern Railway."

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Around 70 firefighters tackled a blaze near Acton Town station in west London on Tuesday, with passengers evacuated and Tube services severely disrupted.

The huge fire broke out near the station in Bollo Lane on Tuesday evening, with bright orange flames seen billowing from the building.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) were called shortly after 5pm and sent 10 fire engines to the scene, with 70 firefighters battling the blaze at a nearby garage.

There were no reports of any serious injuries and three men left the property before the brigade arrived.

Around 35 people were evacuated from the area as a precaution.

LFB said there were a number of gas cylinders inside the garage, which firefighters cooled to an ambient temperature as some cylinders can explode when exposed to heat.

At just before 11pm, the Metropolitan Police said LFB had the fire under control.

The force tweeted: "Road closures remain in place. Buses on diversion/ tube services disrupted. No reports of any serious injuries. Cause of the fire will be looked at with LFB."

British Transport Police Network Response said, just before 9.20pm, that Acton Town underground station is closed until further notice.

Residents have been asked to close their windows due to the smoke.

A number of Tube lines were suspended while emergency services responded to the incident.

The Piccadilly and District lines, which both travel through Acton Town, were affected.

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Dramatic pictures and videos on social media showed flames and smoke billowing from the scene and over the wall to the station platforms.

One witness described the scene as "apocalyptic", with another saying the station was "mad".

The cause of the fire is not known at this stage, but LFB said it will be investigated.

The force said at around 10pm that firefighters would remain at the scene for the next few hours to dampen down the area.