TEN people have been taken to hospital after a commuter train derailed and smashed into a station in Brisbane's southeast this morning.

The train struck Cleveland station about 9.40am this morning, damaging the platform and exposing live electrical wires.

At 6.36pm Queensland Rail said crews were gearing up to remove the train that ploughed into Cleveland station.

It is expected crews will take about 13 hours to remove the three remaining carriages.

Services are suspended between Cleveland and Wellington Point and buses are being used instead.

Queensland Rail said these arrangements would remain in place until at least early next week.

At 4.15pm Queensland Rail announced an investigation into the train crash at Cleveland is expected to take three months.

Addressing the media at the scene this afternoon, acting chief executive officer Jim Benstead said he would not speculate on what caused the train to overshoot the station and crash through a toilet block.

media_camera A WOMAN at Cleveland train station following this morning's derailment. PIC: Richard Walker

He said investigators would use CCTV footage, information from the train’s "black box" and statements from witnesses to determine the cause of the crash.

At 1.18pm it was learned that all those injured in the crash had been released from hospital.

Redland Hospital's Medical Services director, Doctor Rosalind Crawford, confirmed that 10 patients with minor injuries including cuts, bruises, back and shoulder pain, were treated in the emergency department following the crash.

Dr Crawford said Redland Hospital prepared for the influx of casualties by transferring existing patients from the emergency department to hospital wards.

media_camera A train derailed and collided with Cleveland Station around 9.30am Thursday. Picture: Richard Walker

Additional medical and nursing staff members from other areas of the hospital were also placed on stand-by.

"It is our standard practice to prepare for a worst case scenario," Dr Crawford said.

"In the initial stages of the emergency, we did not know how many people were involved, and what their injuries would be.

"Staff from across the hospital worked together smoothly and swiftly to prepare for a serious event involving multiple casualties and I'd like to acknowledge their professionalism."

media_camera Scenes fromthe train crash at Cleveland station. Picture: David Smythe

At 12.35pm, it was learned that Cleveland's senior firefighter found himself scarily close to the action in today's train crash: his teenage son was among those in the station at the time of the disaster.

Acting Cleveland station manager Rob Hawxwell was at the scene responding to the crisis when he received a call from his wife saying his son was also on site.

The 16-year-old had been seconds from entering the station's male toilets - which were destroyed - when the train hit the facility.

"My son just came into the station and was going to the bathroom when he heard a loud bang," Mr Hawxwell said.

media_camera A train derailed at Cleveland Train Station. Photo SUPPLIED

"He was very lucky and got out of the station very quickly."

Mr Hawxwell said his son was just seconds from disaster.

"It wasn't a good message to get," he said.

With about 15 firefighters working to help the 13 train passengers from the train, Mr Hawxwell said the scene was apocalyptic.

media_camera Scenes fromthe train crash at Cleveland station. Picture: David Smythe

While the passengers were able to crawl through the back of the train in a matter of minutes after the crash, emergency crews took about an hour to cut power.

Downed power lines were strewn over some of the train's carriages.

A station worker's wife rushed to the scene as well, fearing the worst; thankfully, the recent train station refurbishment included moving the office to the back of the building.

The couple and their son reunited at the station.

media_camera A train derailed at Cleveland Train Station. Photo SUPPLIED

An eye-witness, Mikayla Gedye, 17, was one of the first on the scene, rushing to pull a woman from the station toilets.

Waiting on nearby Harbourview Court for RACQ to help with her broken down car, Miss Gedye said she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the train crash into the station.

"My friend and I pulled a girl out of the toilets, we weren't sure if any guys were in the male bathroom but she was trapped."

Calling triple zero, Miss Gedye said the girl, about her own age, was shaken but fine.

"We wrenched the door open and got her out," she said.

Describing the scene, Miss Gedye said the train was completely through the wall.

"You could see the wall had half fallen down."

At 11.34am, it was reported that a "technical flaw" with the braking mechanism is believed to have caused the shocking crash.

Owen Doogan from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union said he was very relieved it was not a major catastrophe for the general public, as it could have been.

"I understand the driver did everything he could to stop the train," Mr Doogan said.

"I also have a clear understanding there is a fundamental concern with the braking mechanism, that meant the driver wasn't able to operate as he would normally going into a station."

The Rail Safety Regulator has been informed, and Queensland Rail is expected to launch an investigation.

At 11.20am, it was reported that 19 people in total were examined for injuries.

Wynnum Police District Superintendent Jim Keogh said the outcome could have been "catastrophic" if a person had been in the station's male bathroom, which was destroyed in the crash.

"It was a dramatic accident," he said.

"The men's toilet here has been all but destroyed, but fortunately no one was in the men's toilet at the time.

"We got out of it by the skin of our teeth... it could have been catastrophic."

Supt Keogh could not say how fast the six-carriage train was going at the time of the crash.

Thirteen people plus a driver were on the train while two staff members were in the office and two people were waiting on the platform. There was one person in the female toilets.

"The driver is shaken, understandably," Supt Keogh said.

Those hurt suffered minor injuries and are being treated for shock at Redlands Hospital.

The driver and guard were among those taken to hospital, but mostly as a precaution.

At 11.10am, the Department of Community Safety said 14 people in total were injured in the crash, though only 10 people were taken by ambulance to Redlands Hospital.

A spokesman said the injured were "all walking around wounded" and nobody was carried from the scene.

At 10.55am, authorities had finished searching the train and station building and all people were accounted for.

Onlookers Lyn and Gavin Fullerton heard the sirens from their Cleveland home and rushed to the scene.

"I've never heard so many sirens in my life," Mrs Fullerton said.

"It's normally so quiet around here."

The couple said the station had only recently been upgraded to include GoCard turnstiles.

"Normally the trains slow down as they go around the corner but it obviously hasn't happened," Mr Fullerton said.

The line had been closed for several days as Translink dealt with damage caused by the weekend's wild weather.

Witnesses described how the moving train kept going at some speed into the new terminal building, before finally coming to a stop 15m into the recently-refurbished structure.

Wayne Hartley, owner of nearby Redlands Realty, said the sound of the train hitting the station was deafening.

"It was chaotic; everyone from surrounding businesses came rushing out to see what we could do to help," he said.

The front carriage of the train struck the station barrier, lifting the train off the ground and launching it onto the platform behind it.

Mr Hartley said he believed a woman may have been in the restrooms located at the entrance to the platform at the time as the train crashed but was unable to confirm any further details.

Around 10.15am, paramedics had boarded the train and were in the process of treating injuries to passengers in a nearby cordoned-off area, he said.

There are no confirmed reports of any serious injuries at this stage. Eight people were reported to have suffered minor injuries.

"There were no screams of pain, it went very quiet after the crash," Mr Hartley said.

The local area has been evacuated.

Power problems have been experienced on the Cleveland line throughout the morning, and arose again shortly before the derailment.

It is not clear if the power issues contributed to the crash.

Yasmin Aldiosio, who works at the dental studio across the road from the Cleveland rail station, described hearing a bang but presumed it was a car crash and did not think much of it at the time.

"We initially thought it was a car accident because the bang was not that loud," she said.

"Then later a patient looked out the window and saw smoke (billowing) from the train."

"The scene is busy at the moment - there are so many trucks and ambulance blocking the view."

The station is the last stop on the Cleveland line.

It was initially thought a woman with serious head injuries was on the train but ambulance officers and QFRS teams were unable for a time to get access to her due to live electrical wires.

Buses have been organised to run in the place of trains from Murarrie but passengers on the Cleveland line have been warned to expect 60-minute delays.