Fire 'Explosion' On Tracks Causes Evacuation, Closes London Train Station

A fire at a London train station forced its evacuation and temporary closure Sunday morning. At the Charing Cross Station, about 100 passengers were ordered to leave after what the city’s Telegraph newspaper called an explosion on the tracks. Authorities believe the fire started in the front car of a train that was stopped at the station.

The British Transport Police told the Telegraph the electrical fire was caused by a defective part of track. A number of people were sitting on the train when the fire broke out. They had to jump off it and run past the blaze to get out of the station. One passenger, Vincenzo Minore, the CEO of the popular U.K. cosmetics brand Soap & Glory, was on the train with his wife, grandparents and children when they heard “a sudden bang,” as he noted on Twitter.

“No one understood what was going on and there was panic. People were scared. It was the part of the train nearest the platform,” Minore told the Telegraph. “Most people running off the train and away from the fire ran in the wrong direction, so they were ushered back and had to pass the fire to get outside. It was a bit scary as you don’t know whether it would explode.”

The London Fire Brigade tweeted from its verified account that the fire was “small” and “under control.” Firefighters were called to the station around 10:52 a.m. local time (5:52 a.m. EST), and the fire was brought under control about half an hour later. Two people were examined by emergency personnel, one for a panic attack, but no one was injured or taken to the hospital.

The U.K.’s National Rail reported on its website that some trains were unable to run in certain parts of the city while other trains were being diverted because of the fire: “There is no firm estimate yet of how long disruption will last, but it is likely to continue until at least 1.30pm [8:30 a.m. EST].”

The London Fire Brigade subsequently tweeted that most of the station had been reopened: