Rush hour commuters leaving London faced chaos this evening following reports of a fire on board a train near Hayes.
Departures from Paddington were held as emergency services were called to the incident in west London.
The Heathrow Express service said on Twitter there were “reports of a fire on a train” at Hayes, later adding that firefighters had been called.
Photographs on social media showed blank departure boards at Paddington as lines were blocked.
And other frustrated passengers vented as they waited for delayed trains.
A London Fire Brigade spokeswoman said a Great Western Railway (GWR) train caught fire, with the flames being extinguished by the driver before firefighters arrived.
All passengers on board the eight carriage train were safely evacuated, she added. The brigade was called at about 5.30pm.
A GWR spokesman said lines reopened shortly after 6pm and warned passengers to expect residual delays until around 8pm.
