Train chas in Ely after Fens blaze

THICK smke billwing acrss the Fens frm a massive warehuse blaze brught chas t Ely s train services this week. Rail peratrs were frced t abandn services between the city and Peterbrugh, laying n buses instead. It was hped trains wuld star

THICK smke billwing acrss the Fens frm a massive warehuse blaze brught chas t Ely's train services this week.

Rail peratrs were frced t abandn services between the city and Peterbrugh, laying n buses instead.

It was hped trains wuld start running again between the tw cities by midday n Tuesday after fire-fighters gained cntrl f the blaze early in the mrning. But strng winds fanned the flames, restarting the fire and emergency services were unable t give the all-clear.

The fire - ne f the biggest the cunty had ever seen - brke ut at the Abbey Prduce warehuse in King's Dyke n the utskirts f Whittlesey early n Mnday mrning.

Mre than 70 fire-fighters tackled the blaze as plumes f thick, black smke billwed 20 miles acrss the Fens.

Train services run by One Rail, East Midlands Trains and Crss Cuntry Trains between Ely, March, Whittlesey and Peterbrugh were disrupted.

Netwrk Rail was alerted t the blaze at 7am n Mnday mrning after trees alng the railway line at Whittlesey had caught fire and flames came clse t a signal bx.

Officials clsed the line at 7.35am and fear that the intense heat may have damaged the track.

Checks carried ut by engineers discvered n damage had been dne but train peratrs had t wait until the fire-damaged warehuse clse t the Whittlesey railway line had been demlished befre allwing train services t restart.

A Netwrk Rail spkesman said n Tuesday: "Our engineers need t inspect the line but it was impssible t gain access t the area because f the txic smke.

"We kept in tuch with all the key peple invlved but the decisin t repen the line was ut f ur hands.