Passengers evacuated at Brockenhurst station as train catches fire

RAIL passengers and staff were evacuated as around 20 firefighters responded to a blaze which broke out on a train.

The alarm was raised at 11am on Monday after smoke was seen billowing from underneath a carriage on the 10.45am Bournemouth to Manchester Cross Country service as it pulled into Brockenhurst railway station.

Staff cleared everyone from the train and the platform before fire crews from Brockenhurst, Beaulieu, Lymington, New Milton and Eastleigh arrived at the scene.

The firefighters quickly extinguished the small blaze in an air filter box on the train’s engine. No injuries were reported.

Major disruption ensued as Network Rail had to switch off the line while the incident was dealt with and to allow the affected part of the train to cool down.

Rail replacement buses had to be deployed to ferry passengers between Bournemouth and Weymouth and between Bournemouth and Southampton. Disruption continued until shortly before 4pm.

A Cross Country spokesperson said: “The train crew and station staff immediately evacuated all the customers and the train’s extinguisher system and the speedy arrival of the emergency services quickly resolved the situation.

“As there were several trains delayed by this incident, we are asking anyone whose journey has been affected to get in touch so that we can see if they are due compensation.”

The train was later transported back to Cross Country’s depot where an investigation was launched to establish exactly how the blaze started. A spokesperson for British Transport Police said the cause was believed to have been an “operational issue”.