RIDLEY PARK, Pa. — Service on the Southeastern Pennysylvania Transportation Authority’s Wilmington-Newark line resumed late Thursday after a fire that caused significant damage to a train and led to the evacuation of an estimated 350 passengers.
WPVI-TV reports service resumed about 11 p.m. ET. The fire occurred about 6 p.m., with one car of a six-car trainset fully involved. No injuries were reported [see “Fire engulfs SEPTA railcar …,” Trains News Wire, Feb. 6, 2025].
The fire involved the train’s first car. Passengers told the station that they had started smelling smoke shortly after the train left Philadelphia. Crews had relocated passengers from the car involved before it caught fire.
“The pictures really tell the story of how serious this situation was, and fortunately we have an outcome where we don’t have any serious injuries, which is pretty incredible, considering what we’ve seen,” SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch told KYW-TV. “Our crew acted quickly. They’re well-trained, their training kicked in, they did exactly what they were supposed to in terms of getting people off of the train safely.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Noticed that was a married pair. What is procedure to separate the other cars from the burning pair? From reports do not know if fire was originally from an external source or the car itself. Different reports say either.