Weekend commuters have been faced with long delays this morning, after a train engine caught fire at Swindon railway station. 

Firefighters were called at 9:31 this morning following reports of a fire in the exhaust system of a Great Western Railway passenger train.

Three crews from Swindon and Stratton fire stations rushed to the scene, where they were joined by a Railway Incident Officer. 

A firefighter at the scene said there had been no casualties.

The three fire engines left the station at around 11:15 this morning. But delays to train services continued until after lunchtime.

Daryl Hearn, 25, was due to travel to Bristol for his stag do. The Swindon man, surrounded by six pals all dressed in monkey costumes, said: "We're going to get a taxi now." 

Mohammed Innamulaha, 35, was waiting in line with his five-year-old daughter for a train to Bristol. "She has a birthday party." he said. "I think we should be able to make it." 

Another man, Phil, who only wished to give his first name, still hoped to make it to London for a matinée performance of musical Bat Out of Hell - the tickets for which had been booked months ago.

Asked if he thought he'd reach the theatre in time Phil, 68, said: "I don't know. I've got a reserved seat, but I don't know how they're going to the run the trains." 

Wroughton woman Rachel Radley-Leach had been queuing for ten minutes when she told us: "I'm meeting my friend from Hereford. She's in Cardiff and I'm stuck here."

Standing beside her was new friend Kristie Lloyd. The pair had just met in a pub across from the station. Kristie said: "I'm supposed to be seeing my father in Carmarthen." 

A spokesman for Great Western Railway, which operates the services, said: "There was a small fire on the rear locomotive, away from passenger areas, of a London bound train which was reported by a member of the public. The Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Brigade attended to the fire at Swindon station and the customers on-board changed to the next available service."