THERE was chaos for rail travellers from Petersfield for more than an hour on Monday when fire broke out on a train close to Buriton tunnel.

Passengers were alerted when smoke and flames belched from an electric motor under one of the carriages and the 7.11 am commuter train from Waterloo to Portsmouth came to a halt just north of the tunnel.

Travellers were moved from their carriage as rail staff used extinguishers to bring the fire under control.

The incident shut the main line for an hour-and-a-half and hundreds of commuters were left stranded. Many were forced to take to specially provided buses to continue their journey.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service was called as a precaution but the fire was dealt with by the train staff before the brigade arrived.

A spokesman for South West Trains said the incident involved the rear carriage but the passengers were in no danger. An hour later the carriage was able to continue to Fratton under its own power.

There were no trains in either direction for an hour-and-a-half. Some services were diverted via Eastleigh and bus services ferried passengers between Petersfield and Havant.

South West Trains apologised for the delays but said the incident had to be cleared before the line could be re-opened, which it was at 10-45 am.