Oil leak on in service class 185 train causes fire

[northwichcat]

A PANICKED rail-user dialled 999 when he saw jets of flame coming from under his Huddersfield-bound train.

First TransPennine Express passengers were forced to switch carriages as smoke from an engine fire was pumped through the ventilation system into two of the four carriages.

One frightened passenger dialled 999 as the train approached Slaithwaite.

Fire crews raced to Slaithwaite but the train continued the five miles to Huddersfield where it was met by Huddersfield fire crews.

The driver had isolated the fire and activated the train’s fire extinguishers.

First TransPennine Express, which operates the Manchester Airport to York service, said the driver took the train forward to Huddersfield which was the "safest, quickest and most direct route to the emergency services and facilitated the speediest customer evacuation".

The company has now launched an investigation into the incident which happened on Tuesday at around 11.10pm.

They confirmed the fire was caused by an oil leak in the exhaust systems from the turbo charger.

Firefighters treated the undercarriage and used eight foam extinguishers and the train’s own specialist system to bring the situation under control.

Huddersfield Fire Brigade watch commander Graham Calcroft said: "A 999 call was made from a passenger.

"The driver could see the flames under the train and switched off the engine involved and continued to Huddersfield.

"As he set off, the second and third carriages started filling with smoke.

"Passengers knocked on the cab door and were trying to get off but the train doors would not open.

"When the train got to Huddersfield everybody got off and passengers were quite panicked."

First TransPennine ExpressFleet director, Paul Staples said: "I can confirm that a fire was reported on our 22.22 service from Manchester Airport to York.

"This was safely and appropriately dealt with both by the on-board staff and the train itself.

"Our Class 185 trains are a modern fleet with the very best automated safety protection equipment on board.

"This safety equipment successfully isolated the fire. This was isolated to one engine on the external part of the train and the fire did not affect the internal saloon. At no point was the safety of customers put at risk."

http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/loca...-commuter-train-86081-32465997/#ixzz2FbAdqAaw

Sounds like the lack of opening windows because the train is fitted with air conditioning could have been an issue here.

 

[fgwrich]

Just wondering, Could this be a case of slightly sloppy journalism or could that service have been worked by 2 Class 170s?

rst TransPennine Express passengers were forced to switch carriages as smoke from an engine fire was pumped through the ventilation system into two of the four carriages

 

[northwichcat]

Just wondering, Could this be a case of slightly sloppy journalism or could that service have been worked by 2 Class 170s?

I think it's unlikely that the driver would have turned off a single engine on a pair of 170s and continued to Huddersfield.

 

[Jordy]

First TransPennine Express passengers were forced to switch carriages as smoke from an engine fire was pumped through the ventilation system into two of the four carriages.

If they moved from the two smoke filled carriages into another it couldn't have been a 170, TPE only have 2-car versions and they don't have corridor connections.

 

[ainsworth74]

It's interesting clearly there has to be a mistake in some part of the story. Also I don't see why a four car unit with a engine OOU wouldn't be able to continue to Huddersfield, 170s are underpowered but their not that badly underpowered!

 

[Sapphire Blue]

It's interesting clearly there has to be a mistake in some part of the story. Also I don't see why a four car unit with a engine OOU wouldn't be able to continue to Huddersfield, 170s are underpowered but their not that badly underpowered!

. . . and it'd downhill.

 

[northwichcat]

It's interesting clearly there has to be a mistake in some part of the story. Also I don't see why a four car unit with a engine OOU wouldn't be able to continue to Huddersfield, 170s are underpowered but their not that badly underpowered!

Can the driver manually turn off one specific engine on a 4 car 170 though while running along at normal speed?

I know the 185s have eco-mode and the driver has the option to manually over-ride as he/she sees fit.

 

[RPM]

Can the driver manually turn off one specific engine on a 4 car 170 though while running along at normal speed?

I know the 185s have eco-mode and the driver has the option to manually over-ride as he/she sees fit.

Assumng it is the same as a 168 then no, you need to stop and do it from the outside, but if the automatic fire extinguisher bottle has discharged then the engine should stop automatically.

 

[sprinterguy]

The unit involved was 185125, working the 22:22 Manchester Airport to York. The engine was isolated on the affected carriage (53125) and the train continued to Huddersfield at reduced speed. The article is correct in saying that the automatic fire extinguishers put out the fire.

Funnily enough, no smoke entering the passenger compartments was reported at the time, although if the fire was underneath the leading carriage then it is understandable that there would be a fair bit of smoke billowing up around the second and third carriages.