Massive fire breaks out in Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express near MP's Ratlam, passengers safely evacuated

The incident took place in the B-1 coach of Train No.  12431 around 5:30 am between Luni Richha and Vikramgarh Alot stations under the West Central Railway's Kota Division. 

A massive fire broke out in one of the AC coaches of the Thiruvananthapuram-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express near Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district early on Sunday, railway officials said.

As per the railway officials, there were 68 passengers in the coach when the incident occurred early morning today.

No casualties or injuries were reported and all passengers of the affected coach were safely deboarded, news agency ANI reported. 

The incident took place in the B-1 coach of Train No.  12431 around 5:30 am between Luni Richha and Vikramgarh Alot stations under the West Central Railway's Kota Division. 

The overhead electric (OHE) supply was immediately cut and the affected coach was later detached from the train to prevent the fire from spreading further.

The train guard alerted the loco pilot after noticing smoke and flames emerging  from the coach, following which the train was brought to a halt and emergency evacuation procedures were immediately initiated.

“All passengers of the affected coach were safely deboarded. No injury or casualty to any passenger or railway staff. OHE supply was cut immediately. The affected B-1 coach was detached from the rake,” the West Central Railway, Kota Division said in a statement.

Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, along with onboard railway staff and other officials, immediately began evacuating passengers, and the affected coach was cleared within about 15 minutes.

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Rescue team from the Kota Railway Division has been dispatched to the site following the information about the incident was received. 

The incident also disrupted rail traffic on the Delhi-Mumbai route, with train services affected for nearly two hours while railway officials conducted rescue operations and safety inspections at the site.

According to West Central Railway of Kota Division, train no. 12955 (Mumbai Central- Jaipur Express) was held at Mahidpur Road (MEP). 

What caused the fire has not yet been established and railway authorities have initiated an investigation into the fire incident.

This is the second such incident reported within two weeks. Earlier, on May 15, a fire broke out in two air-conditioned coaches of the Hyderabad-Jaipur Special Express at Nampally Railway Station on Friday evening.

Railway officials said the blaze erupted in the B1 and B2 coaches of the train’s 3-tier AC compartment shortly before its scheduled departure for Jaipur at 7 pm. No casualties were reported in the incident.