CCTV footage of a man deliberately setting fire to a row of seats on a Metro Trains Melbourne service resurfaced, drawing renewed attention to a 2021 arson incident that Victoria Police say remains unresolved.
The footage shows the train stopped at Laverton Station on the Werribee line on 16 March 2021, at around 11.10am. A man is seen calmly dousing a bank of seats with an unidentified accelerant before setting them alight and walking off the carriage without urgency. He is believed to have then boarded a Werribee-bound train and alighted at Williams Landing.
The fire damaged the train’s seating and flooring, forcing the carriage out of service for repairs. No one was injured.
Police described the man as Caucasian in appearance, about 175cm tall and roughly 30 years old at the time, wearing a dark cap, grey hoodie, and a face mask pulled down around his chin.
Leading Senior Constable Kendra Jackson had appealed to anyone in the vicinity of Laverton Railway Station that morning, or anyone recognising the man, to come forward. It’s unclear whether the case has since been resolved. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
