Fremantle train in smoke scare
Sticky brakes have been blamed for causing a "fire" scare on a Fremantle-bound passenger train this morning.
Pictures have emerged of the train heading through North Fremantle with smoke coming from its undercarriage. It is understood a concerned passenger made an emergency call to alert firefighters to the situation.
Transperth spokesman David Hynes said the smoke was caused by sticking brakes and passengers were let off 'a couple of stops' north of Fremantle once the problem was noticed.
The train then continued on to Fremantle.
"It was not a huge issue but clearly it was something that needed to be fixed," Mr Hynes said.
"The brakes were sticky and were smoking but they were never on fire."
That claim was contradicted by Department of Fire and Emergency spokesman Russel Jones who said the driver was understood to have stopped the train to put out a fire using an on-board extinguisher.
Fire crews were alerted and met the train in Fremantle, once passengers had been evacuated.
“When the first firefighter got there, there were still flames,” Mr Jones said.
Fire crews, he said, used thermal imaging cameras to check the brakes had cooled down before leaving the train with Transperth staff.
Mr Hynes said the situation appeared more dramatic than it was when firefighters arrived and doused the brakes, creating a cloud of steam.
"It is not something that happens every day but it does happen," Mr Hynes said.
The train was taken out of service for repairs.
The train heads to Fremantle after passengers were evacuated. Picture: Twitter
