Elizabeth line chaos: Paddington Station ‘evacuated’ over ’emergency’ hours after opening

People caught up in the chaos took to Twitter amid unconfirmed reports of a fire alarm.

One with the handle@dougmorton said: “Just got evacuated from Paddington Elizabeth line station.”

Another Twitter user, Albert Evans, shared pictures of large crowds outside Paddington Station.

He said: “On the way to Elizabeth Line launch and there appears to be an issue at Paddington Station.”

Another with the handle @wladd73 wrote: “Classic start to #ElizabethLine fire at Paddington train not going that far.”

Jay Peper said: “Trains already won’t stop at Paddington because of ‘fire alarm activation’ #ElizabethLine #PurpleTrain.”

One more Will Wood tweeted: “London Fire Brigade reported to be on their way to Paddington #ElizabethLine to ‘carry out their checks’. Apparently someone pressed the fire alarm.”

It comes as hundreds of people gathered in central London on Tuesday morning in an attempt to be among the first passengers on the new Elizabeth Tube line.

Around 300 people queued outside Paddington Station ahead of the service’s opening at 6.30am, and the crowd cheered and rushed forwards when the doors opened at around 6.20am.

The first train departed on time at 6.33am carrying hundreds of excited passengers.

London mayor Sadiq Khan, who also travelled on the first train, said: “It’s a landmark day.

“I’m excited. I’m like the little boy before Christmas.”

He said the Elizabeth line is a “game-changer” that will “transform our city”.

He added that the trains are “fit for a Queen” after her Majesty visited Paddington last week to mark the completion of the Crossrail project.

Express.co.uk has contacted Transport for London for comment.

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