Rail travellers were left stranded on Tuesday night when a mail train caught fire on the main London Liverpool Street railway line at Colchester.

The train's tractor unit caught fire just after 9pm as the driver was approaching North Station from Norwich.

Firefighters from Colchester and Wivenhoe tackled the "considerable" fire as the engine stood on tracks behind the Cowdray Centre in Cowdray Avenue.

They had to scale a fence and hike down the track to reach the blaze. They remained at the scene for about an hour in case the heated metal reignited the diesel.

A British Transport Police spokesman, based at Euston, said: "The driver noticed a glow from the engine as he approached a signal.

"He stopped at the signal, the carriages were detached and the train pulled away."

A full investigation was being carried out yesterday. The spokesman said early indications are that sparks from the brakes set light to old diesel and oil under the train and the heat from the fire cracked a fuel pipe which ignited.

He added that the mail was undamaged.

A Railtrack spokesman said the overhead lines had been switched off in both directions between Witham and Manningtree for about an hour and a half.

Trains stacked up at Colchester North Station until power was restored and the line re-opened at 10.35pm.

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