Fire near Waterloo Station causes travel chaos on some of UK’s busiest train lines

Nine platforms closed with ‘significant damage’ expected following lineside blaze

Commuters are facing major disruption at the UK’s busiest railway station after a fire broke out near the lines of London's Waterloo Station.

Shortly before rush hour nine platforms were closed, leaving passengers stranded in the concourse.

The fire caused significant damage to signal cables, with the tracks on the northern side of the station closed to services.

The platforms affected normally serve destinations such as Reading and Windsor & Eton.

All trains between Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside are being diverted via Kingston. Passengers for Reading are being advised to use London Paddington instead.

Services to Salisbury and Exeter have been cancelled, and will start and terminate at Basingstoke.

Disruption will continue for the rest of the day, and the extent of the damage means the morning rush-hour on Thursday is likely to disrupted.

Network Rail said its engineers would work through the night to fix the damage.

“We are very sorry for the disruption," a spokesman for Network Rail and South Western Railway said.

“A lineside fire this morning caused significant damage to some of the rail infrastructure in the Waterloo area, fully closing platforms 16-24," he added.

“Trains will be delayed or cancelled until the end of service today and disruption is likely to impact services tomorrow morning.

“Passengers are strongly advised to check their journeys before travelling at http://www.southwesternrailway.com for ticket acceptance and service details.”