Almost two dozen people have escaped injury after a Melbourne-bound train crashed into a freight train near Barnawartha in Victoria’s north east.

The smash, which sparked a fire, happened on Wednesday afternoon.

The freight train derailed, but it’s unclear whether that happened before or after the collision.

20 passengers and staff were not injured.

The V/Line service was replaced by coaches for passengers between Chiltern and Melbourne.

(PIC: Twitter / Andrew Lund)