The fire broke out in a cupboard on the train as it waited at West Croydon station. Pic: Charlie Floyd

Southern Rail commuters faced rush hour chaos after a fire broke out in a cupboard on a train on Monday, February 27.

Footage posted on social media showed smoke engulfing a train window at the West Croydon station. Flames can be seen inside the carriage, which set alight shortly before 3pm.

Passengers were evacuated and all services using the line were cancelled for two hours as fire fighters and train staff dealt with the issue.

Aggravated passengers took to social media to express their thoughts.

Fire at West Croydon station. Talk about overkill, unbelievable pic.twitter.com/i5TDQBf48W

— Jon Benjamin (@southlondonyido) February 27, 2017

A Southern spokesperson told ELL:

At about 2:40pm on Monday, there was a small fire in a cupboard at the end of a train carriage on the 1404 Epsom to Victoria service at West Croydon station. The fire brigade attended, put the fire out quickly and the train was taken out of service to the depot. Trains were delayed until the power could be restored at around 3.30pm.

A statement posted on National Rail’s website read: “Earlier today, there was a fire on a train at platform three at West Croydon. The fire has been extinguished and the train moved from the station.”