Stratford station evacuated after huge fire breaks out near tracks

Thick smoke billowed over east London on Friday night as a huge fire forced the evacuation of Stratford station and brought travel chaos to one of the capital’s busiest transport hubs. Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters from the London Fire Brigade were called to the blaze, which broke out in grass and shrubbery near railway tracks and sidings surrounding the station. Power to the affected lines was isolated while crews tackled the flames. Station Commander Scott Thorpe said firefighters were making steady progress but expected to remain on scene for much of the evening. “The power to the railway tracks has been isolated and the Brigade is working closely with its partners in order to resolve this incident safely,” he said. The station has been temporarily closed and National Rail warned disruption would continue until the end of the day. The cause of the fire has not yet been established, the London Fire Brigade said, as crews continued to extinguish smaller pockets of fire around the station’s sidings. Thousands of passengers faced hours of delays and cancellations, with no immediate word on when services might resume.