UPDATE: Cables and conductor rail '˜melted' in fire at Gatwick Airport station

A fire broke out on the tracks outside the airport at around 7am this morning causing lines to close.

Network Rail said the blaze melted electrical cables and the conductor rail, which provide power to trains.

Two fire crews from Crawley were sent to extinguished the flames.

The fire service said firefighters carried out an inspection of the area but the fire had been put out before they arrived.

The electricity supply was isolated and the incident has been left with Gatwick station management.

Network Rail engineers are on site repairing the damage.

A Network Rail spokesperson said; “We’re really sorry for the delays that passengers are experiencing today, our engineers are onsite working to repair the damage caused by the fire.

“The damage is quite extensive, so it’s difficult to give a firm estimate as to when the railway will return to normal.

“In the meantime we are advising passengers to check before they travel on either http://www.southernrailway.com/ or http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/.”

The fire was caused by a problem with the power supply and damaged two of the four tracks, the spokesman added. Both will be out of use until the end of the day.

Major disruption is expected throughout the day with trains being cancelled or delayed by up to 35 minutes whilst the line is repaired.

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