Timely intervention averts tragedy as fire breaks out at Amritsar-Saharsa Express train
Chandigarh, Oct 18
A major tragedy was averted with the intervention of railway employees as a fire broke out in one of the AC coaches of the Amritsar-Saharsa Express (train 12204) at the Sirhind station in Punjab.
However, no one was injured during the incident.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. However, the train resumed its journey after safety checks towards Saharsa in Bihar.
Upon detecting the smoke, the railway employees safely evacuated all passengers from the burning coach and moved them to another coach in the train.
Emergency teams also extinguished the fire, preventing it from spreading further. According to railway officials, the fire was noticed around 7.30 a.m.
"As soon as the incident was noticed, Railway authorities swung into action and shifted the passengers immediately to the other coaches and the fire was also extinguished quickly. The train will depart for its destination shortly. No casualties. Time of incident 7.30 a.m.," the Railways said in a statement.
One of the videos of the incident showed fire extinguishers at work after a massive blaze erupted on one of the coaches.
Another video showed passengers on the railway track, as smoke could be seen in one of the coaches of the train.
A police official said that smoke was noticed in one of the AC coaches of the train, and passengers were safely evacuated.
Fire tenders were immediately called in to put out the fire, the official added.
Train number 12204 Amritsar-Saharsa Garib Rath Express covers a distance of 1,716 km in over 31 hours. The train operates three days from Amritsar -- Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
During its journey between Amritsar and Saharsa, train number 12204 halts at 23 railway stations. These are: Beas, Jalandhar City, Phagwara, Dhandari Kalan, Ambala Cantt, Delhi, Hapur, Moradabad, Bareilly, Hardoi, Lucknow NR, Gorakhpur, Deoria Sadar, Siwan, Chhapra, Hajipur, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Dalsingh Sarai, Barauni, Begu Sarai, Khagaria, and S Bakhtiyarpur.
— IANS
Reader Comments
This is really concerning. AC coaches catching fire? We need better safety standards in our railways. While I appreciate the staff's quick response, we need to address why such incidents happen in the first place. Regular maintenance and safety audits are crucial.
Well done railway team! 👠From Sirhind station staff to emergency responders - everyone acted professionally. This shows our emergency response systems are improving. Passengers must have been terrified, but thankfully everyone is safe.
I travel frequently on this route for work. The fact that they resumed the journey after safety checks shows confidence in their systems. But I hope they conduct a thorough investigation. Electrical faults in AC coaches can be dangerous.
Garib Rath trains are used by many middle-class and lower-income families. Thank goodness this happened at a station and not in the middle of nowhere. The evacuation was smooth because of the location. Railway staff training is paying off!
While the response was good, we need transparency about the cause. Electrical short circuits? Maintenance issues? Passengers deserve to know what went wrong. Hope the railways shares the investigation report publicly.
Imagine the panic among passengers! 😰 Especially those traveling with children and elderly. The railway employees who
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