Police probe rail fire

A SUSPICIOUS fire in Dandenong disrupted rail services for about 17 hours, and police are searching for those responsible.
A witness walking in Wilma Avenue reported the fire in a wood yard on Railway Parade about 1.40pm on 9 October.
CFA crews attended and extinguished the blaze, which damaged five square metres and a vehicle parked in the premises.
Police established a crime scene and an arson chemist deemed the fire’s cause suspicious.
A Metro spokeswoman said the fire was beside the line near Yarraman Railway Station and caused significant damage to signalling equipment.
“We ran a reduced number of services between Westall and Dandenong and ran buses between Westall and Cranbourne,” she said.
“There were 30 to 60-minute delays between 4pm and 10pm and we then suspended the line in order to carry out repair work, which continued throughout the night.”
Buses continued to replace trains between Westall and Dandenong on Thursday morning until 6.20am, when all repair works were completed and normal train services resumed.
Call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.