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Paddington rail disruption to Christmas getaway Paddington rail service returns to normal
(about 9 hours later)
Passengers travelling to and from London's Paddington station continue to face severe disruption after a fire damaged lineside signal equipment. Train services from London's Paddington have returned to normal following two days of disruption, train companies have said.
Services to Heathrow Airport have been suspended and First Great Western trains have been cancelled or delayed since the trouble started on Thursday. Services to Heathrow Airport were suspended and First Great Western trains were cancelled after a fire damaged signal equipment on Thursday.
Fire damage to signal equipment in west London closed two of the four lines. National Rail said First Great Western was expected to run a full service on Saturday.
Network Rail said it was working to fix the problem but delays were likely to continue into Saturday lunchtime. Heathrow Connect said its service was also running normally.
Friday was due to be the busiest day of the year for road, rail and air travel as thousands of people began their festive getaway.
Tube delaysTube delays
Network Rail said two fires - one near Acton and another near Heathrow - severely damaged equipment in west London, affecting its signalling system.Network Rail said two fires - one near Acton and another near Heathrow - severely damaged equipment in west London, affecting its signalling system.
It said the fire damage was so extensive it was having to rebuild the box and associated equipment and engineers would be on site throughout the night to complete the work. It said the fire damage was so extensive it was having to rebuild the box and associated equipment. It was originally thought the disruption would continue throughout Saturday.
A spokesman said: "The work will continue throughout the night but there is likely to be disruption throughout Saturday." The Heathrow Express cancelled its services due to a signal failure at Hayes and Harlington.
The Heathrow Express cancelled its services due to a signal failure at Hayes and Harlington, leaving many of the 123,000 passengers heading out of the capital forced to take the Tube. First Great Western operated a reduced service, running about half the normal number of trains into and out of Paddington.
First Great Western has been operating a reduced service, running about half the normal number of trains into and out of Paddington. During Friday morning the reduced service put extra pressure on the Tube network.
Spokesman for the train operator James Davis said: "We are continuing to operate as many services as we can with only two lines open but it is half of the usual capacity."
He said trains were running with a delay of up to 30 minutes as they have to slow down as they travel between Slough and Southall.
Heavy rain
During the morning the reduced service put extra pressure on the Tube network.
There were severe delays on the Bakerloo line and minor delays on the Jubilee line due to a signalling systems failure.There were severe delays on the Bakerloo line and minor delays on the Jubilee line due to a signalling systems failure.
BBC Berkshire's Patrick O Hagan, at Reading station, said: "If you're heading to Paddington through Berkshire and Oxfordshire you would normally expect around eight trains every half an hour through Reading.
"There's about half that number and there's been no express services from further west at all."
Heathrow Airport said it was expecting 123,000 passengers to depart and 104,000 to arrive.
At Gatwick about 1.5 million people are expected to travel through the airport between 17 December and 2 January.At Gatwick about 1.5 million people are expected to travel through the airport between 17 December and 2 January.
Volunteers from the London 2012 Olympic Games have been drafted in to help passengers at both airports.Volunteers from the London 2012 Olympic Games have been drafted in to help passengers at both airports.
They have been handing out children's packs and giving safety advice.They have been handing out children's packs and giving safety advice.
Friday was the busiest day of the year for road, rail and air travel as thousands of people began their festive getaway.
On the roads, dozens of sets of roadworks have been lifted on major routes but the Highways Agency is urging drivers to check the weather forecast, with heavy rain in much of the country expected to cause more flooding.On the roads, dozens of sets of roadworks have been lifted on major routes but the Highways Agency is urging drivers to check the weather forecast, with heavy rain in much of the country expected to cause more flooding.