Fire alert and TWO collisions hit London rush hour

Commuters in London have been affected by three separate incidents during the morning rush hour - including two collisions and a fire alert.

A South West Trains service collided with a wagon near London Waterloo, bringing further travel misery to commuters already affected by major improvement works there.

Pictures on social media showed the train leaning against the wagon and resting at an angle on the tracks.

"Major disruption" between Waterloo and Vauxhall is now expected until the end of the day - with the train operator urging commuters not to travel into the capital.

Three people were checked over at the scene by medics after the "low-speed partial derailment", but none of them required hospital treatment.

In another incident, one of London's busiest Underground stations was evacuated following reports of smoke filling a carriage.

Two fire engines and 10 firefighters were sent to Holborn station, and the Central line was temporarily suspended between Liverpool Street and White City following the "fire alert".

Abby Elphick, who was in the station at the time, said: "I heard shouting, saw people running away and could see smoke, but it looked like dust. One person running can start a stampede, it was initially quite daunting seeing people running."

Sarah Marshall, who was in the station at the time, reported hearing a "high-pitched bang" but said most commuters were calm as they made their way to street level.

The London Fire Brigade said an "overheated compressor on a train" was to blame for the smoke - and although Holborn station has since reopened, severe delays remain.

Meanwhile, a train hit the buffers at King's Cross - leaving two people with minor injuries.

One passenger on the service said "we just all went flying" after the service from Royston pulled into the north London station at about 6.20am.

A spokeswoman says the low-speed collision is expected to cause little disruption to services at King's Cross - but the Rail Accident Investigation Branch has been informed.

The incidents came as it was confirmed that millions of commuters will face rail fare increases of up to 3.6% from January 2018 - the highest rise for five years.