More than 300 passengers safely evacuated after SEPTA train catches fire in Delco, agency says
Around 6 p.m., a fire was reported under a Wilmington/Newark Line train near Crum Lynne Station, an agency spokesperson said.
More than 300 passengers were safely evacuated after a SEPTA Regional Rail train caught fire Thursday evening in Delaware County, an agency spokesperson said.
Around 6 p.m., a fire was reported under a Wilmington/Newark Line train near Crum Lynne Station, SEPTA spokesperson Kelly Greene said. The flames then spread to the train.
“The crew responded quickly, and all 325 passengers on board were safely evacuated,” Greene said in an email.
Service on the Wilmington/Newark Line was suspended until further notice, Greene said.
Andrew Busch, another SEPTA spokesperson who was at the scene, said the fire apparently started in the first car of a six-car train and flames “fully engulfed” that car.
Busch said the train was located just south of the station and it would likely remain there for a while for the investigation and its eventual removal.
He said passengers were transferred onto shuttle buses that took them to all the stops along the line until its end in Newark, Del.
SEPTA’s System Safety Division, Amtrak, and police have responded to the scene, and an investigation into the cause of the fire was underway, Greene said.
Amtrak posted on social media that all service between Philadelphia and Wilmington was delayed as a result of firefighter activity, but at 7:41 p.m. Amtrak reported that the firefighting activity had ended and service had resumed with delays.