PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — More than 300 passengers were evacuated from a SEPTA Regional Rail train Thursday evening in Delaware County after a fire engulfed one of the train cars.
SEPTA said the fire happened at Crum Lynne Station in Ridley Park around 6 p.m. As the Wilmington-Newark Line train was pulling away from the station, someone — a passenger or a SEPTA worker — reported smelling smoke.
All passengers were quickly evacuated from the train.
“Not long after that, it was seen that the first car of the train did become fully engulfed in flames,” said SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch.
Fortunately, there were no injuries.
“We’re very fortunate that we got everyone off safely and that our crews acted so quickly to make sure everyone got off the train,” Busch added.
Fire crews put out the flames around 8:30 p.m. Service was suspended on the Wilmington-Newark Line for the rest of the evening.
It took longer than planned, but the hundreds of passengers did get to their destinations via shuttle buses.
An investigation is ongoing. Officials don’t yet know the cause of the fire — whether it came from the train or the track below.