Firefighters spent five hours tackling a blaze which ripped through 100 metres of undergrowth beside a railway line at the start of last night's rush hour.
Fire crews from Crawley and Horsham were called to the embankment near Balcombe station at 4.15pm.
The flames were out by 9.24pm but relief crews from around the county checked the area through the night.
A spokesman said: "Because the undergrowth is so dry, they needed to reinspect the area."
Five trains were cancelled and services in both directions were delayed.
A spokesman for South Central said: "The line was blocked because of the fire crews and trains had to reverse up the line.
"The line was reopened at 4.30pm, though later train drivers were advised to go slow and check to see if the fire had restarted anywhere."
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