Melbourne Express: Thursday, August 3, 2017

That's all for the blog today. 

We have pulled together the main information into an article: Passengers forced off train to walk along tracks as mass of sparks erupts

Metro says the malfunctioning trains to be repaired by 3pm this afternoon. 

One of the trains sparked between Richmond and Flinders Street and this damaged another train. 

Repair crews are currently at the scene trying to fix the stationary trains, and this is what has caused the suspension of the Sandringham line. 

Recap: Here's all the key info about the issues on the Sandringham line: 

• The line has been suspended between South Yarra and Elsternwick. 
• Buses are replacing trains south of Elsternwick Station. Passengers north of Elsternwick are being asked to use an alternative form of transport. 
• The cause was two malfunctioning trains, both of which are stuck between Richmond and the city. One of the trains sparked, and that damaged a nearby train.
• Passengers on the malfunctioning train had to disembark from the service between stations. 
• The Frankston and Cranbourne/Pakenham lines are also experiencing delays and cancellations. 

I've put in another call to Metro to see if there is an update on the situation and how long it will take for trains tor resume.

Recao: Here's all the key info about the issues on the Sandringham line: 

• The line has been suspended between South Yarra and Elsternwick. 
• Buses are replacing trains south of Elsternwick Station. Passengers north of Elsterwick are being asked to use an alternative form of transport. 
• The cause was two malfunctioning trains, both of which are stuck between Richmond and the city. One of the trains sparked, and that damaged a nearby train.
• Passengers on the malfunctioning train had to disembark from the service between stations. 
• The Frankston and Cranbourne/Pakenham lines are also experiencing delays and cancellations. 

I've put in another call to Metro to see if there is an update on the situation and how long it will take for trains tor resume.

Our travel editor Craig Platt was very late to the office today. He got to work about 10.15am, more than an hour later than usual thanks to the Sandringham line issues.  

Here's his account of his journey to work: "My usual 25 minute commute took more than 90 minutes this morning. After the first train at Windsor Station at about 9am (running about 15 minutes late) was too crowded to board, I boarded the second one. Unfortunately we only made it about 50 metres before grinding to a halt."

"According to the driver, trains had been halted again between Flinders Street and Richmond, with services backed up along the line. We could see the boom gates stuck down at Union Street and we told they were, in fact, down all the way back to Brighton."

"It took about 25 minutes to travel one stop, at which point most passengers gave up and left the train at Prahran, myself included, off seeking trams to board." 

"At least our driver stayed positive, keeping passengers updated on the situation and cracking jokes ('What day do eggs hate the most? Fry day')"

Meanwhile, state political reporter Ben Preiss decided to catch a tram instead.

"This morning I arrived at Balaclava station only to find commuters streaming back down the steps. I heard the next train would be at least half an hour away and even that sounded uncertain," he said. 

]"I didn't bother walking up to the platform and instead took the number three tram to Fitzroy Street and then hopped onto the 96 into the city before switching again in the free tram zone for the final leg of my commute. I was lucky to have had an alternative this morning to reach work. It must have been incredibly frustrating for commuters with fewer options. 

Channel Nine were quick to get the scene of the malfunctioning train and spoke to some of the passengers who were forced to disembark between stations. 

The train only got about 100 metres from Federation Square when all of a sudden it started to slow down and there was an explosion sound, according to passengers.

The power was cut and all the lights in the train went out.

"There was a big flash, the lights went off and we just heard from the train driver that the train in front has hit the Batman bridge," one commuter told Channel Nine.

Another said: "The lights went off, and then we started smelling a 'chemically' smell."
 

Here's the moment the train malfunctioned. 

People on Twitter are understandably not very happy about the delays. 

Here's all the key info about the issues on the Sandringham line: 

• The line has been suspended between South Yarra and Elsternwick. 
• Buses are replacing trains south of Elsternwick Station. Passengers north of Elsterwick are being asked to use an alternative form of transport. 
• The cause was two malfunctioning trains, both of which are stuck between Richmond and the city. One of the trains sparked, and that damaged a nearby train.
• Passengers on the malfunctioning train had to disembark from the service between stations. 
• The Frankston and Cranbourne/Pakenham lines are also experiencing delays and cancellations. 

Have you been affected by the delays? Let us know: 

Reader Steve Draper sent us this pic of the crush on the platform this morning. 

"Feel free to use this pic of our wonderful train service this morning," he writes. 

Do I detect a hint of sarcasm there? 

The Sandringham line has been suspended between Elsternwick and South Yarra. 

Anyone travelling from Sandringham, will have to disembark at Elsternwick and catch a replacement bus to nearby Caulfield station. From there you can catch a Frankston/Pakenham line into the city. 

But if you've a Sandringham line passenger between Elsternwick and South Yarra, there are no replacement buses and Metro is advising you find an alternative form of transport into the city. 

The line has been closed because repair crews are working to fix the two trains that broke down between Flinders Street and Richmond earlier. 

The trains are running again on the Sandringham line, but our online travel editor Craig Platt says services are too packed for passengers to actually board. 

He took this pic from Windsor, which is about halfway up the Sandringham line. 

I've just got an email from an occasional iceberger, Matthew, about one of my assumptions about swimming in the bay. 

I remarked earlier that the temperature is sitting on a chilly 3.6 degrees in Melbourne at the moment, so I couldn't understand the allure of going for a swim.

But Matthew tells me: "The water in the bay actually doesn't get much below 11 degrees Celsius in the middle of winter, then quickly warms up toward double that temperature in summer. So, on a chilly 3.6 degree Melbourne morning the Bay is practically a spa! Try it some time, of course I only did it to fulfill failed bets!"

A Metro spokeswoman says not one but two trains were affected by the sparking, and both are stuck.

One of the trains sparked, and that damaged a nearby train. Both are now stuck on tracks near Federation Square. All passengers have been evacuated.

The spokeswoman said trains continue to move in the area, but are being routed around the two damaged carriages, the source of many of the delays.

Metro estimates delays of 25 minutes for Sandringham line passengers. 

Here's the requisite cute animal story of the morning. 3AW has interviewed The Drain Man, who saved a trapped cat. 

In the absence of a brainteaser, here is today's nine letter word. 

G O I L K N M Y C

Our homepage editor is uncannily good at these and said anyone who can't figure today's one out will be ridiculed. 

Could that be a stealth clue? Let me know if you've solved it. 

Metro has revised down its estimate of how bad those delays on the Sandringham line are. 

They had previously said 45 minutes, now those are down to 30 minutes. 

3AW is reporting that fire trucks are at the scene of the sparking train between Flinders Street and Richmond, which is responsible for the delays. 

Trains are running again. 

Liam Mannix tells me the MFB has given the area the all-clear. 

A huge spark on a train near Flinders Street Station has forced Metro to evacuate scared passengers and is causing delays of 45 minutes on the Sandringham line.

Video footage shows the train's connection to the overhead wire throwing a huge spark about 7.30 Wednesday morning. The train was stopped between Flinders Street and Richmond stations, near Federation Square, at the time.

A Metro spokeswoman said the incident did not pose a danger to passengers, but they would all be taken off the train and put on alternate services. The Sandringham line will also be delayed for about 45 minutes.
 

The temperature is sitting on a chilly 3.6 degrees in Melbourne at the moment. The water in the Bay must be even colder. 

I cannot for the life of me understand the thought patterns of someone who puts these two facts together and thinks 'I reckon I'll go for a swim'. 

Another cool Throwback Thursday pic from Royal Melbourne Hospital.