SOLLER TRAIN DRAMA

By Humphrey Carter PASSENGERS on yesterday's early afternoon Soller train service to Palma were forced to abandon the train and continue their journey in a fleet of coaches after the train came to a sudden halt near the Son Castello industrial estate on the outskirts of the city. The breakdown, which happened at 3pm, 50 minutes after the 2.10 service had departed from Soller, was caused by a short circuit which also sparked a small fire in the engine room which was quickly extinguished by the driver who immediately contacted Palma station and an emergency operation rapidly swung into action. Local Police units did attend the scene but their services were not needed, neither were those of the Palma fire brigade. None of the one hundred-plus passengers, a mixture of residents and holidaymakers, were injured in the incident and the railway company did its best to make sure a fleet of coaches was at the scene of the crippled train as soon as possible. Due to the location of the breakdown, the coaches were unable to get alongside the electric-train and passengers, some with young children and prams, had to walk up a railway siding to reach the parked vehicles. Fortunately, passengers were able to shelter from the rain under a nearby bridge while they waited for the coaches to arrive. Some even took the opportunity to grab some souvenir holiday snaps. Services on the Soller railway, one of the island's most popular tourist attractions as it takes passengers up in to and over the Sierra Tramuntana mountains, were delayed by just 30 minutes as engineers repaired the fault and the train was able to continue its journey to the main railway station in Palma's Plaza d'España. The train driver's wagon and the engine was given a full inspection by mechanics yesterday afternoon and the short circuit did not appear to have caused any major damage.