Madhya Pradesh: Two coaches of Andhra Pradesh Express train between New Delhi and Visakhapatnam caught fire near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh on Monday, forcing railways officials to evacuate the train. The fire was detected when it was near Birlanagar railway station, a few kilometres from Gwalior. The train was stopped and all the passengers were evacuated.
As per reports, the two coaches — B-6 and B-7 — of train No. 22416, a fully air-conditioned Express, caught fire around 11.45 am, North Central Railway’s Chief Public Relation Officer (CPRO) Gaurav Krishna Bansal said.Railway PRO Manoj Kumar said a high-tension wire fell on the train resulting in the blaze starting from B6 and B7 bogies.
Several fire tenders were rushed to the spot which managed to douse the fire. The rail route between Delhi and Gwalior was closed temporarily as a precaution.
After the train caught fire near the Birlanagar station, located about 12 kms from here, some passengers pulled the chain and stopped it, and immediately alighted from it, railway sources said.There is no report of any casualty in the fire. However, some passengers suffered minor injuries after they jumped out of the train detecting fire. They have been admitted to a nearby hospital.
Senior railway officials from Gwalior soon reached the spot to supervise the relief and rescue work The train was later sent on its way after the damaged coaches were segregated and the blaze controlled, officials said.
“Six coaches were segregated and sent to Gwalior. All passengers in the affected coaches were evacuated. No injuries have been reported so far,” said Ved Prakash, director, publicity, Railway Board. Three fire engines helped control the flames, he said. 37 deputy collectors were on board the train but they were not hurt in the mishap. They were returning from a training, an official said. The cause of the fire was still being ascertained, officials said.