A sudden fire in the AC coach of Rajdhani Express near Ratlam in the early hours of the morning spread panic among the passengers. Within 15 minutes, 68 passengers were evacuated safely, but two coaches were engulfed in fire. There was chaos due to the closure of Delhi-Mumbai railway route. How did the Rajdhani Express catch fire? Investigation fast.
Ratlam: In the Rajdhani Express, one of the safest trains of the country, such a dreadful intention came to light in the early hours of Sunday which shocked everyone from the railway department to the general public. A massive fire suddenly broke out in the AC coach of Rajdhani Express (train number 12431) going from Trivandrum to Hazrat Nizamuddin (Delhi). At around 5:15 in the morning, when most of the passengers on board the train were fast asleep, suddenly there was a scream. This heart-wrenching accident happened between Luni Richha and Vikramgarh station near Alot in Ratlam district.
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That scary scene at 5:15 in the morning: When black smoke surrounded the sleeping passengers
The train left Ratlam Junction at its normal speed at around 3:45 pm. The next stop was Kota Junction in Rajasthan, but before the train entered the Rajasthan border, suddenly smoke and flames started rising from the AC coach (B-1). Within no time the fire took such a huge form that only black smoke and screams could be heard all around inside the coach. It had become difficult to breathe and flames were bursting through the windows and coming out. The passengers had no time to recover, but due to the wisdom of the railway staff and the passengers, a major accident was averted.
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15 minute war against death: How 68 lives were saved?
“If there had been a delay of even 5 minutes, the coach would have turned into a crematorium…” As soon as the news of the fire was received, the train was immediately stopped by applying emergency brakes. There were a total of 68 passengers in B-1 coach at that time. As soon as the train stopped, the rescue operation to take out the passengers started. Within just 15 minutes, all 68 passengers were taken out of the coach safely, risking their lives. The fortunate thing is that there was no loss of life in this terrible accident. The intensity of the fire was so great that within no time two coaches were engulfed by it and the AC coach was completely burnt to ashes.
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Delhi-Mumbai lifeline cut: wheel stuck on railway track
After this horrific fire, rail traffic has been completely stopped on the main railway track connecting Delhi and Mumbai. Due to the closure of this busiest route of the country, the wheels of many trains have stopped at many places. The railway team, showing promptness, immediately cut the power connection of the entire train and the coaches which had come under fire, were completely cut and separated from the train so that the fire did not spread to the entire train.
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Kota railway division area, accident relief train ran from Ratlam
This entire incident geographically falls under the Kota Railway Division area of Rajasthan. However, Ratlam Railway Division Headquarters of Madhya Pradesh was very close to this place, so seeing the seriousness of the incident, DRM of Ratlam Division Ashwini Kumar immediately left for the spot with a team of officers. Special Accident Relief Train (ART) and Tower Wagon were dispatched to the incident site early in the morning to expedite relief and rescue operations. At present, efforts are underway to control the flames and smoke. Senior railway officials are engaged in investigation on the spot, but the real cause of the fire (short circuit or any other technical fault) has not been revealed yet.
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How did the AC coach catch fire?
At present, the cause of the fire has not been officially revealed. Initial suspicion is of short circuit or electrical fault. Railway’s technical team is busy investigating the coach. This incident has once again raised big questions on the security arrangements and fire safety of AC coaches in Indian Railways. This accident in a premium train like Rajdhani has shocked the passengers. If there was even a slight delay in rescue, this accident could have taken a very catastrophic form.