A fire broke out in an AC coach of the Thiruvananthapuram-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district early Sunday, damaging two coaches and disrupting traffic on the busy Mumbai-Delhi route for several hours. While no passengers were injured in the blaze, five railway staffers rushing to the spot were injured after their vehicle overturned on the way to the incident site.
The fire was reported around 5.15 am in the B-1 coach of train number 12431 between Vikramgarh Alot and Lunirichha stations under the Kota railway division. The blaze also damaged the luggage-cum-guard van attached behind the coach, railway officials said.
According to officials, the coach was carrying 68 passengers at the time of the incident. Railway staff immediately evacuated passengers within 15 minutes, detached the affected coach from the rake and switched off the overhead power supply as a safety measure. Firefighting teams later managed to douse the blaze.
Kota railway PRO Ravindera Lakhara said no casualties or injuries were reported among passengers. Arrangements were made to accommodate travellers in other coaches till Kota, where an additional coach was to be attached to restore the train’s full capacity.
The train resumed its onward journey at around 9.45 am after restoration work, officials said. However, the incident disrupted operations on the Mumbai-Delhi corridor, affecting the movement of at least 13 passenger trains.
“The fire affected the movement of 13 passenger trains. Repair work of the overhead equipment on the Delhi-bound up line was completed around 1 pm, while restoration on the down Delhi-Mumbai line was completed at 8.30 am,” Lakhara said. Rail traffic was restored after more than seven hours.
Even as rescue and repair operations were underway, a separate accident took place involving railway personnel heading to the site. A van carrying equipment for overhead electric line repair overturned near Alot after a cow reportedly came onto the road suddenly.
Five railway employees travelling in the vehicle sustained injuries, with one of them said to be in critical condition. The injured were first taken to a nearby hospital and later referred to Kota in Rajasthan for further treatment.
Railway officials said Ratlam Divisional Railway Manager Ajay Kumar Kalara was monitoring the situation, while an accident relief train and tower wagon were deployed for restoration work. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined and an investigation is underway.
