SALT LAKE CITY – Dozens of commuters were stranded in the cold as crews investigated reports of a fire on a FrontRunner train on Saturday night.
Officials say the operator of a FrontRunner train heading northbound toward Salt Lake City noticed a smokey smell and got out to inspect the train in Murray.
He determined the train was safe to travel to the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub, located at 250 South and 600 West in Salt Lake City.
When the train arrived in Salt Lake City, all passengers were evacuated while investigators looked over the train.
The train was sent back to the maintenance shop and another was sent to get the passengers, who say they were stranded out in the cold for around 45 minutes.
“We got on the train and it started getting a little smokey and now we had to get off and now we’re in the cold,” said Mitchell Allen, a passenger.
There were no injuries and the problem was determined to be likely electrical, but Gerry Carpenter, UTA spokesperson, said they wanted to make sure everyone was safe.
“No injuries, doesn’t appear to be any property damage, but it was something we wanted to be very careful of. When you’re carrying hundreds of people, you can’t be too safe,” said Gerry Carpenter, UTA spokesperson.
Passengers were finally able to get back on the train. Carpenter says there will be ongoing delays on FrontRunner trains Saturday night, particularly heading northbound, but they’re not expected to be too significant.
