News

Sunday February 10, 2013

Train engine catches fire after derailment

By KIATISAK CHUA
kiatisak@thestar.com.my


Off track: Firemen and police personnel checking the train which derailed while passing through Bukit Mertajam. Off track: Firemen and police personnel checking the train which derailed while passing through Bukit Mertajam.

BUTTERWORTH: The engine of a south-bound Sinaran Utara train, carrying more than 150 passengers, caught fire after it derailed between Bukit Mertajam and Simpang Ampat here.

No passengers were injured in the incident which happened at 2.45pm.

The train, with 10 coaches, was on its way to Kuala Lumpur from Butterworth when it went off the track.

Melissa Maxwell, 68, from California, said this was the first time she had experienced a derailment.

“I was planning to go to Kuala Lumpur with my husband when it happened. The railway authority was very efficient and we were assured that everything would be fine,” she said.

A Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) spokesman said investigations had started to find out the cause of the derailment.

The passengers were ferried to other train stations by bus for them to catch another train to Kuala Lumpur,” said the spokesman.

He added that other train schedules were not disrupted by the incident.

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