GWR train fire: Passengers stranded at Newton Abbot as smoke and 'oil' fill carriages

A passenger on a halted train in Devon has described being stuck in a carriage with 'grease' or 'oil' covering the floor as smoke could be seen coming from the underside of the front carriage. The passenger, who wishes to be referred to as Paul, was travelling from Ivybridge to London Paddington on Sunday (March 22) and told DevonLive that smoke could be seen 'from the very start' of his journey.

He added that fire crews were on scene and had brought on air conditioning units to try and reduce the temperature on the train.

"I got on at Ivybridge and the train was smoking heavily," he said. "At the time it looked like it was coming from the rear of the train, but I think it was coming from the underside of the train. In the end, when we got to Newton Abbot and the train had to stop, the smoke was coming from one of the front carriages."

Paul, who spent £120 on his ticket to London in order to get there in time for his work shift on Monday morning, contacted Great Western Railway to inform them of what was happening. In the messages, which DevonLive has seen, Paul told the responding agent: The 2.03pm train from Ivybridge to Exeter is smoking heavily and the carriage smells of fumes. Do you think this is acceptable?

"I just handed over £120 for tickets to Paddington - it's not on. The fire brigade are on the scene in Newton Abbot. Apparently they intend to evacuate the train."

The Great Western Railway team member then apologised and said this will be 'reported'.

Paul, who was still onboard the train with other passengers when speaking with DevonLive went on to say: "There's about 40 or 50 people on the train and they haven't made a decision as to whether they are going to evacuate us yet. They did inform us that it was a wheel bearing and some axel grease that might have overheated and so a fire broke out.

"The fire brigade boarded the train and they haven't given a timeline yet of how long this will all take. They've just brought on an air conditioning unit to lower the temperature on board."

When asked what the atmosphere was like for himself and other passengers currently stranded, Paul went on to say: "I think it's just not great service. There's something all over the floor which seems to be a kind of oily greasy substance, and then it was obviously smoking heavily in Ivybridge and in Totnes, before we ground to a halt in Newton Abbot."

Paul added that, at one point, there had been eight emergency vehicles on the scene, while he claims he and his fellow passengers could only sit among the grease on the floor and 'bad smell' in the air.

Paul continued: "I pay a lot of money every month for a commuter ticket around Devon and Cornwall to GWR and they use these trains that are just not fit for purpose. I need to be in London for work tomorrow and this is certainly not how I wanted to be spending my Sunday afternoon."

DevonLive has contacted Great Western Railway for comment.