Dawlish News

Hundreds of commuters faced major delays after a train caught fire as it left Exeter, causing tens of other services to be delayed and cancelled. Passengers spoke of their horror as they smelt diesel fumes and then saw smoke pouring from the outside of the carriage. The driver stopped the 7.40am Glasgow to Plymouth Virgin Train at Starcross and instructed everyone to get off immediately. As passengers stood on the platform, they could see flames lapping up the side of the train. Now an investigation has been launched by Virgin Trains into what caused the traction motor on coach C to catch fire. The incident happened at about 3pm yesterday. Firefighters from Dawlish, Teignmouth, Exeter and Honiton, quickly extinguished the blaze, but services were delayed well into the evening as hundreds of passengers were switched onto coaches. On the neighbouring A379, traffic slowed down as fire crews tackled the blaze, although police say there were no major delays on the road. A Network Rail spokesman said at least 24 trains were delayed or cancelled in the first couple of hours. Further delays continued into the evening. Cleaner, Cindy Downton, who was working on the service, said: "There was this horrible smell like burning and then there was all this smoke."