MADRID: Tens of thousands of commuters in the Spanish city of Barcelona are facing travel chaos as smoke from a fire filled railway tunnels and forced authorities to suspend train service.

The city's firefighting department said the fire started early Tuesday in trash that had accumulated at a disused station in the northeastern city. Five commuter lines and one subway line were affected. The fire was extinguished but rail services are not expected to return to normal until the afternoon.

State rail company Renfe said high-speed train services between Madrid and Barcelona and the French border were running as normal.

The company said some 72,000 passengers had been affected.