Charing Cross tube station evacuated after train catches fire

Charing Cross Underground station was evacuated this morning as emergency services dealt with a fire on a train.

London Fire Brigade quickly brought the “small fire” in a front carriage under control at the central London station.

Passengers were taken off the train to Hastings in East Sussex on platform six and out of the station at 10.50am.

Two people were checked by paramedics but no-one was injured.

British Transport Police said that the fire was thought to have been caused by an electrical fault and that there were no suspicious circumstances.

Pictures and videos posted on social media showed the flames and people fleeing the station.

Several fire engines and ambulance vehicles could be seen outside the busy station by Trafalgar Square, which reopened at about 1.15pm.

Annika Anwary, who works in the station and saw the fire, said: “I was in the staffroom. I heard the alarm so I came upstairs and I saw the train was burning on the platform.

“There were quite a lot of flames and flashing lights as well.

“People were just all running out of there. Most of them had already left by the time I came up.

“They tried to stay calm but there were definitely people running.”

PA