Electric cable explodes at Sutton station - travel chaos on Southern and Thameslink rail network.
No trains ran through Sutton Station this morning after an electrical cable explosion - causing severe travel disruption across the rail network in south-west London.
Southern Railway and First Capital Connect services ground to a halt after the fire was reported on platform two just after 7am.
Sutton Station reopened at 11.30am but there are still severe delays.
A train also broke down at West Sutton station after experiencing power troubles and passengers were stuck on carriages between Carshalton and Sutton for three hours.
The closure has caused severe delays to routes to and from West Croydon, Mitcham, Epsom, Wimbledon, Tooting, Streatham and Dorking.
Passengers have been warned to experience delays of about an hour and short-notice cancellations.
A First Capital Connect spokesman confirmed its services from Luton are being terminated in London and no trains are travelling to Sutton station.
Transport for London is accepting tickets on London buses, the Tramlink and the Underground.
Queues were reported at stations across the region as thousands seek to find alternative routes to work.
A spokesperson for Network Rail, which owns Sutton Station, said: “This morning there was what we call an electrical supply problem which created a spark or a small bang at the station.
“We have got Network Rail engineers on site assessing the situation and investigating it.
“Trains are not stopping at the station at this time.
“It is not possible to get a time when services will stop there. I’d say to check back after lunchtime.
“I can’t say if it’s going to have an effect on services – we are waiting to find out.
“I’d advise passengers to check with the train companies they are travelling with or check Network Rail’s enquiry website.”
They were unable to say whether it was linked to a triple explosion last year outside Sutton station.
Passengers stuck on train for THREE HOURS
Passengers travelling on a Southern train to Sutton from Clapham Junction were stuck for more than two hours after it was due to arrive at Sutton at 7.38am.
The train stopped between Carshalton and Sutton at 7.30am and passengers remained there until about 10.40am, when the train was taken to Sutton and passengers were escorted off the platform.
Franck Merveaux, travelling to Sutton to get a connection to Wimbledon for work, said: "We pay a lot for our season tickets and stuff and then you get things like this.
"A couple of weeks ago it was floods, before that it was the wind.
"It will be snowing soon and there will be more delays.
"We pay so much for such an unreliable service. It's not on - I'll definitely be looking for a refund."
Naomi West, a shop assistant travelling from Balham to get to work, said "I'm annoyyed but you just have to deal with it. There's no point getting angry about things you can't control.
"But my phone's low on battery so I may not be so good natured in half an hour!"