Three boys aged 13, 15 and 16 were arrested after the Paignton Railway Station fire damaged the station building and disrupted rail travel through the town. British Transport Police said the arrests were made in the Paignton area on Tuesday evening on suspicion of arson.
Emergency services were alerted at about 05:45 BST on Tuesday, and seven fire crews were sent to the scene at the height of the incident. There were no reports of any injuries, but no trains were due to run to Paignton on Wednesday.
Daryn McCombe on Paignton
Daryn McCombe, Network Rail and Great Western Railway's network operations director, described the station as "a familiar landmark at the heart of the town, and we understand that many people will be affected by the scenes this morning". He added: "We share that sense of loss and are determined to do everything we can to restore services as quickly as possible."
The fire forced the cancellation of train services between Newton Abbot and Paignton and led to road closures in the town centre. Great Western Railway said services from Exmouth would terminate at Newton Abbot, while a limited shuttle train service would run between Newton Abbot and Torquay, calling at Torre.
Great Western Railway and Network Rail
Rail replacement buses were running between Newton Abbot and Paignton via Torre and Torquay, and train tickets were being accepted at no extra cost on Stagecoach bus routes serving Exeter, Newton Abbot, Teignmouth, Torquay and Paignton. Specialist teams were carrying out inspections of the damaged station building and surrounding railway infrastructure before services could fully resume.
Three boys were arrested on suspicion of arson, but detectives have still asked for information, and the cause of the fire has not been explained in the material released so far. The arrest answers who police detained; it does not yet answer what started the blaze at Paignton railway station.
