The West Hempstead Long Island Rail Road branch is shut down in both directions between West Hempstead and Valley Stream after a train caught fire early this morning.

"I was concerned," one Malverne resident whose home backs up to the tracks said. "It's scary."

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said the fire started around 3:45 a.m. on a work train less than half a mile east of the Westwood Train Station in Malverne.

Witness video shows massive flames bursting through the train cars as firefighters rushed through a person's backyard on Ackley Avenue to get to the scene.

"It's a little more difficult than a regular house fire because we have to worry about the utilities, the third rail, the equipment that we're not very familiar with," Malverne First Deputy Fire Chief Ernest Bohringer said.

Officials said no crew or firefighters were injured. Passengers do not ride on work trains.

The Long Island Rail Road Fire Marshal is investigating how the fire started.

An MTA spokesperson said crews are inspecting the rail and making repairs in hopes of reopening the track in time for the evening rush.