A busy London train station had to be evacuated during the early morning rush hour Thursday after a fire on a train, leading to severe delays for commuters.
Gatwick Express warned of “mass disruption” to services to and from Victoria station after fire crews were called to put out a blaze on one of its trains.
The station was evacuated after smoke was seen pouring from the train’s engine. It was partially reopened within an hour after the fire was extinguished by around 7:25GMT, reports said.
The train was empty at the time, National Rail said, and no one is reported to have been injured.
Passengers can expect delays of up to 45 minutes on services running through Victoria Station as well as some cancellations, Gatwick Express warned on its website.
Tom Edwards, an antiques dealer from London who was at the station when the fire broke out, said he saw flames and black smoke coming from the train.
“There was just a little bit of flames by the wheels,” he said. “They put it out and then started chucking everybody out of the building.
“There was no panic. It could have got pretty bad if they hadn’t done something about it straight away.”
London Fire Brigade said firefighters were no longer at the station.
“It was a very small fire under a train,” a fire service spokesman said.
“We were called at 06.51 and crews left just after 8am.”
London train station evacuated after fire
