Station Evacuated After Train Catches Fire

A fire on board a train has caused major delays at one of London's busiest railway stations during the morning rush-hour.

Smoke was seen pouring from the engine of a Gatwick Express train, forcing officials to evacuate and close Victoria Station.

Fire crews put out the blaze, which was spotted by a commuter at around 7am.

National Rail said the train was empty at the time, and no one is reported to have been injured.

All platforms have now been reopened to the public, and trains are running.

However, commuters had been warned to expect delays of up to 50 minutes until at least 10am.

Gatwick Express, Southeastern and Southern rail services in and out of the station were all affected.

Tom Edwards, an antiques dealer from London, who was trying to get a train to visit his mother, said he spotted 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."

On its Twitter feed, rail firm Southern confirmed the damaged train was a Gatwick Express service, adding: "No one was hurt which was good."