South London train services resume after fire

LONDON, May 24 (Reuters) Normal train services resumed in and out of a busy London station serving the City's financial district today morning following a fire that caused 24 hours of commuter havoc, Network Rail said.

London Fire Brigade gave the all-clear after a railside blaze had earlier forced the closure of London Bridge and disrupted services at three other stations, bringing transport in the southeast to a standstill.

Victoria Underground station was also temporarily closed because of overcrowding.

Network Rail said today that normal services will be running at London Bridge as well as Charing Cross, Cannon Street and Waterloo East.

The fire, at a workshop near London Bridge station, caused severe disruption for thousands of commuters.

Firefighters, concerned that gas cylinders could explode in the workshop in railway arches in Bermondsey, threw a 200-metre exclusion zone around the area.

Despite putting out the blaze, they feared the cylinders, which contained acetylene gas, could still explode 24 hours or more after being in a fire.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said the cylinders had cooled and the cause of the fire was being investigated.

REUTERS AE VV1337