BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Furious commuters in Argentina set fire to a train on Thursday over delays during the morning rush hour, incidents the government later blamed on leftist activists.
Television images showed black smoke and flames engulfingthe train at the station of Merlo, in the western suburbs ofthe capital, Buenos Aires. At nearby Castelar, passengershurled stones at the ticket office and blocked the rails.
Many passengers said the delays, caused by a broken-downtrain, had cost them a day's work.
Justice Minister Anibal Fernandez said the faulty train'sbrakes had been sabotaged and leftist political activists tookrocks and flares from their backpacks to incite violence andset the train aflame.
"This was planned, it was premeditated," Fernandez told anews conference, adding the fire caused nearly $8 million (4.55million pounds) in damage to the newest train running on theheavily travelled line.
Police arrested seven people on theft charges during theincidents, he said.
Argentina's dilapidated rail services are plagued by delaysand travellers" anger has erupted into violence before.
Last year, commuters torched a carriage at a station southof the capital and rioting broke out at a main railway stationwhen passengers clashed with police, causing dozens of injuriesand arrests.
(Reporting by Helen Popper, Nicolas Misculin and HilaryBurke; Editing by John O'Callaghan)
