'Miserable' service by South Western Railway must 'improve' MPs demand after fire evacuation drama on train
RAILWAY bosses are facing fresh calls to ‘up’ their ‘miserable service’ by a group of MPs after hundreds of people were evacuated from a train amid a fire scare.
Scores of commuters from across Portsmouth were left stranded in Petersfield after brakes on a newly-refurbished train overheated, flooding carriages with ‘thick acrid smoke’.
The South Western Railway train had departed Havant for London Waterloo at 10.34am when the issue was sported and passengers were ordered off at the next stop.
The drama came on the day an all-party parliamentary group of MPs was launched to hold South Western ‘to account’ for its service.
Flick Drummond, Meon Valley MP, is part of the group of politicians – led by former culture secretary, Maria Miller – scrutinising the railway operator.
She said: ‘It’s unacceptable we have trains that are facing issues like this. This must have been very scary for passengers.
‘It’s really important we now put the pressure on South Western Railway to up their performance.
‘MPs are always getting complaints from constituents whose lives are being made a misery on a daily basis by incidents like this.’
Nobody was hurt during the emergency, which caused carnage on trains heading to the capital, with delays and cancellations blighting routes.
Stranded passengers in Petersfield had to wait for at least an hour for replacement services.
Paul Fouch, of Havant, was on the train and in the coach where the smoke erupted.
The 57-year-old said: ‘We could smell a real acrid smell of smoke, like plastic melting. Then a bluish haze started filling the carriage.
‘Train guards soon came along and turfed everyone out. But it was all very calm.’
Naomi Harris, 27, of Southsea was on her way to London. She added: ‘Everyone realised very quickly that we had to get out. There was a fog on the train. It smelt of burning rubber.’
About 25 firefighters from across Petersfield, Havant, Horndean, Liphook, Bordon and Portchester were called to the incident.
Officers used thermal imaging cameras to track the source of the smoke back to an overheated brake manifold on the 10-carriage train, a fire and rescue spokeswoman said.
The News understands the train was one of four newly-refurbished models introduced on London-bound lines earlier this year.
South Western insisted engineers would investigate the cause of the problem
The company added it has invested £895m on a new class of trains for ‘suburban routes’ that will be introduced ‘from the middle of the year’.
A spokesman said: ‘Unfortunately this type of issue can happen on a train of any age, including brand new fleet.’
Evacuated passengers praised the actions of train guards and railway staff in Petersfield.