Passengers evacuated from smoking train at Stafford station
Passengers were evacuated from a train at Stafford station after smoke came from under the train.
An Arriva CrossCountry service from Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads via Birmingham had to be stopped at around 8am on Thursday because of a fault on one of the brakes.
Passengers on coaches A and B were told to leave the train immediately when it pulled into the station, and other carriages were emptied shortly after. They were told it was because of an 'incident under investigation'.
People on the platform could see smoke coming from under the train itself, and spoke of the smell of burning diesel.
Richard Gibson, head of communications for CrossCountry said: "The incident involved our 07:07 service from Manchester to Bristol. On arrival at Stafford, staff were alerted to smoke coming from underneath a carriage and quickly evacuated customers from the train.
"The incident was caused by a brake on one of the wheels not fully releasing, resulting in a brake pad heating up and causing the smoke. The train has now been removed from service and returned to a depot for repairs.
"Customers were in no danger and able to travel forward on other services, although slightly delayed for which we apologise."
On Twitter, those who were evacuated spoke of the 'professional and clear evacuation' of the train.
CrossCountry Trains apologised to social media user @laura8289 for the 'scary experience'.
