A blaze broke out on railway tracks near Stevenage Station earlier today - but what caused the fire?

Herts Fire and Rescue Service was called at 12.25pm today to reports of a fire on a railway embankment off London Road, Stevenage which has since been extinguished.

The blaze was captured earlier today.The blaze was captured earlier today. (Image: Submitted) Despite this, passengers are advised that services are no longer running through the station and not to travel due to consequential signalling problems.

In the latest update from Herts County Council, trackside cable equipment is said to have set "alight" creating the fire.

Mark Barber, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, said: “We worked closely with colleagues from Network Rail to safely deal with a small fire at the side of the East Coast Main Line through Stevenage this afternoon. 

"Trains had to be stopped and overhead power lines isolated to allow firefighters to tackle the fire safely, but we were able to extinguish the fire quickly to minimise disruption to rail passengers."

According to the chief fire officer, two fire engines from Stevenage Fire Station were sent to the scene, where crews found "trackside cable equipment alight", with the fire affecting a gantry for overhead lines.

"Once the overhead power had been switched by Network Rail, firefighters were able to safely extinguish the fire with hose reels," he added.