Railway lines into London Bridge station were closed on Tuesday night after a major fire broke out at a recycling plant beside the tracks in Deptford, south-east London.
More than 100 firefighters were dispatched to tackle the blaze, which forced National Rail to block all lines between London Bridge, New Cross, and New Cross Gate on safety grounds.
The closure caused widespread disruption for commuters across underground and railway networks. Rail operator Southeastern diverted all services away from London Bridge to alternative central London terminals and warned travellers not to travel to or from London Bridge.
Thameslink reported delays of more than 30 minutes for passengers travelling on overground services between Blackfriars and East Croydon. During the disruption, passengers on one Thameslink train between London Bridge and New Cross carried out an uncontrolled evacuation of their carriage.
Network Rail warned that service disruption would continue until at least 10.30pm on Tuesday, raising fears that commuters could face ongoing travel delays into Wednesday morning.
Firefighting operations in Deptford
The blaze broke out shortly before 8pm at a recycling plant on an industrial estate on Landmann Way, situated on the border of Bermondsey and North Lewisham. Around 50 tonnes of waste caught fire directly beside the railway tracks, with emergency services receiving initial calls at 7.58pm.
Fire crews from East Greenwich, Old Kent Road, Deptford, and surrounding fire stations rushed to the scene alongside partner blue light services, with 15 fire appliances attending.
London Fire Brigade commander Duncan Rees said: "Approximately 100 firefighters are tackling a large fire at a recycling centre on an industrial estate on the border of Bermondsey and North Lewisham."
Rees added: "First calls were received at 1958 and 15 fire appliances are now in attendance. Fire crews along with colleagues from partner blue light services are working hard in difficult conditions to bring the fire under control."
He said that "one of the brigade's 32-metre turntable ladders and one 64-metre turntable ladder are being used as water towers to tackle the flames from above."
The London Fire Brigade indicated that the incident was likely to be a protracted operation, with firefighters remaining at the scene throughout the night and into the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Passengers report dangerous train journey
Dramatic video footage posted to social media showed trains slowly edging past the inferno, which emitted dark plumes of smoke visible from across London.
One female passenger travelling on a Southeastern service told the Daily Mail that her carriage filled with smoke as it slowly passed the raging fire. "I was standing close to the doors but had to step back, you could feel the sheer heat coming off the fire as we passed," she said.
"The trains were running dangerously close to the flames and the windows were all open so the smoke came into our carriage," the passenger said. "If I had known we were going that near to the blaze, I wouldn't have gone on the train."
She added: "I even saw a large timber sleeper on fire lying across the tracks. I can't believe they continued to run trains through there. It didn't feel safe."
Second major blaze at Landmann Way site
Tuesday's incident is the second major blaze to hit the Landmann Way site in recent months. On June 8, a fire involving around 15 engines and more than 100 firefighters also forced the closure of train lines in and out of London Bridge.
London Bridge station is one of central London's busiest rail terminals, serving as a primary hub for passenger routes across south-east London and Kent. Infrastructure owner Network Rail manages Great Britain's track network, while Southeastern and Thameslink operate key commuter lines into the capital. National Rail was contacted for comment following the fire.
