Five people, including two children, have been taken to hospital after a train hit two cars in Melbourne’s south-east on Monday, causing major delays during the morning peak.

The incident unfolded when a car stopped in Officer was rear-ended by a second car shortly after 7am, police said.

A couple in their 70s abandoned their Toyota hatch, when they realised it had been pushed on to the train tracks.

After the couple moved to safety, a city-bound train hit their car, pushing it 150 metres and trapping it under the train.

The second car, a Holden station wagon, was also hit and extensively damaged.

Train smashes into cars on Melbourne train trackshttps://t.co/AwUW1hXtVY pic.twitter.com/y1ZW26juya — ABC Melbourne (@abcmelbourne) July 15, 2019

The driver, a 44-year-old man from Officer, and two children who were inside the car, were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The couple were also taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The train’s 84 passengers and two Metro staff who were on board were uninjured.

Trains were stopped in the area, with drivers told to expect delays. Public Transport Victoria spokeswoman Georgia Main said the train driver was forced to apply the emergency brakes.

“The train on approach has seen those cars, sounded its horn and applied emergency brakes,” she said. “The train driver’s pretty shaken, but OK. One car is stuck under train. That’s going to take a little bit to clear.”

The line was suspended between Berwick and Pakenham, with buses replacing trains.