Gas cylinder closes railway line

A section of the west coast main line lies within the safety cordon area

Rail services in and out of Motherwell station in North Lanarkshire have been disrupted following a fire at a nearby car servicing yard.

Fire crews set up a 200m safety cordon after being called to a blaze in a timber building in Orbiston Street at about 0700 GMT.

The building contained gas cylinders, with one used to store acetylene which is potentially explosive.

The line between Motherwell and Shieldmuir will be closed until Friday.

Services on the west coast main line will be diverted via Holytown.

Replacement buses will ferry passengers on local trains between Motherwell and Sheildmuir.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said a number of small businesses in the area had also evacuated their premises.

Firefighters will remain at the incident for 24 hours cooling the cylinder before declaring the area safe.

The cause of the fire is not yet known and is under investigation.