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Freight train crash fire under control

by mudricky | January 27, 2009 at 02:23 am

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Firefighters dealing with a freight train carrying oil and diesel that derailed and caught fire south of Stewarton, East Ayrshire, Scotland has brought the fire under control.

A railway bridge has partially collapsed and an exclusion zone was set up around the area.

The nearby A735 has been closed and power lines have come down.

Because of the crash power lines have been damaged and Scottish Power have said up to 100 homes in the Kilmaurs area of Ayrshire had lost electricity as a result of the crash.

Ch Supt Martin Ripley, of the British Transport Police, said the main focus was putting out the fire because of the risks of the flammable materials catching fire.

Smoke is covering the local area and the A735 road has been closed, two carriages are alight but no-one is injured.

The train was travelling between Mossend in Ayrshire and Riccarton near Kilmarnock when the crash happened.

Train services have been affected and the Glasgow to Carlisle service was running via Barassie.

Network Rail said the rear section of the 10-wagon freight train had become derailed and that disruption was likely to go on for much of the day.

Local train services between Barrhead in East Renfrewshire and Kilmarnock were stopped and alternative arrangements put in place for travellers.

Buses were replacing trains between Barrhead and Kilmarnock.

A freight train transporting aviation fuel has derailed and caught fire in East Ayrshire, police have said.
An exclusion zone has been set up around the scene, about half a mile south of Stewarton.

At least six wagons came off the rails at about 0615 GMT and some caught fire. No-one is reported injured.

It is understood the train hit a pylon while crossing a bridge, which has now collapsed. The nearby A735 has been closed and power lines have come down.

'Black smoke'

Ch Supt Martin Ripley, of the British Transport Police, said: "The freight train, which was coming into the depot, has caught fire."

He said the train was carrying fuel and the main focus was putting out the fire.

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SEG (not verified)

at 07:58 on January 27th, 2009

Reports say that it may have been a Class 66 locomotive, guessing it was one of the 66s based further north. The train was 6 TEA wagons, so shorter then the usual formation of 7-9.