Passengers faint as 'smoke' fills train carriage

A commuter is comforted at Britomart after fainting when a train filled with what appeared to be smoke. Picture / Richard Robinson

Two passengers fainted and third felt ill after a carriage of an Auckland commuter train filled with "fog-like smoke" this morning.

About half-way into this morning's delayed 7.03am service from Papakura to Britomart, passengers sitting in the rear carriage began to feel queasy after noticing something similar to smoke filling the train.

"I don't know how to explain it," said one woman. "It just looked like fog but it had a funny smell."

The woman, who did not want to be named, said one passenger broke the glass on the fire alarm after noticing the smoke.

Passengers claimed staff tried to calm them by saying the smoke had come from the broken alarm, although passengers said it was already in the carriage before the alarm was activated.

At Remuera the train stopped and passengers got off the train. One woman fainted on the platform.

After a short stop passengers were then redirected back into the carriage described by passengers as still being smoke-filled.

As the train continued towards Britomart station a second woman fainted. Others felt ill as the smoke continued to linger in the carriage.

Police, fire and ambulance officers were at the station when the train arrived.

Auckland City Station Senior Station Officer Jeff McCulloch said the fog-like smoke appeared to have come from an air conditioning unit which was 12 degrees warmer in the rear carriage than in others.

St John officers treated three people, one of whom was taken to Auckland Hospital.

After inspecting the train, one crew of firefighters remained on board as it travelled back to the Westfield base on the Southern Line.

Once at the base, engineers and firefighters were better able to inspect the air conditioning unit.

"It scared a lot of people who real really worried," said the woman passenger. "There was a baby on the carriage as well and she was screaming the whole way.

"They (staff) were saying that there was no real problem. Everyone was going, 'Well there's something going on, we just don't know what'."

A man, who was sitting in the front carriage, said other passengers were only alerted to the problem when the train stopped at Remuera.

"We stopped just before Newmarket and wondered why. Someone said, 'Oh, there's smoke coming from the carriage'."

The incident follows several problems with the train service this year, including the evacuation of 50 passengers when a fire broke out under the floor of one carriage in February.

"What else can happen," said one man who was waiting at Britomart for a train. "There was a signal fault the other day. They are plagued by disaster, aren't they?"

Connex spokeswoman Tessa Marjoram said early indications were that the smoke was caused by a malfunction in the heating elements of the carriage's air conditioning.

The carriage in question had only been operating since February this year. It had met all safety specifications, she said.


Ms Marjoram said the incident was unrelated to a fire on board a train in February, which she said was on a much older carriage.

"We are concerned whenever there is any incident on one of our services but in this case it wasn't a fire," she said.

The carriage involved would be taken out of service until a full investigation was completed.

Train Problems:

February
Passengers flee smoke filled carriage after fire breaks out under the floor.

March
Concrete from the ceiling falls onto train roof and bounces to the ground at Britomart Station.

May
Several instances of signal failures causing major delays and disruption
Two passengers faint after fog-like smoke fills carriage.

- additional reporting NZPA