A massive fire broke out in the Rajdhani Express in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district early Sunday, prompting the evacuation of dozens of passengers. Railway officials said 68 passengers were inside the affected coach when the blaze was detected.
The incident occurred around 5.15 am in the B-1 coach and an adjoining SLR (Seating cum Luggage Rake) coach of Train No. 12431 between Luni Richha and Vikramgarh Alot stations under the Kota Division of West Central Railway. No injuries or casualties were reported.
Railway officials said the train guard alerted the loco pilot after spotting smoke and flames coming from the compartment, leading to the train being halted and emergency evacuation procedures being launched immediately.
The overhead electric supply was disconnected and the affected coach was detached from the rake to stop the fire from spreading.
Personnel from the Railway Protection Force, along with onboard railway staff, evacuated passengers from the affected and nearby coaches within about 15 minutes.
“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,” West Central Railway’s Kota Division said in a statement.
Relief and rescue teams from the Kota Railway Division were rushed to the site. Senior officials, including Divisional Railway Manager Anil Kalra, along with police and fire department personnel, supervised rescue and restoration work.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Saurabh Jain said additional coaches were being arranged from Kota and the remaining portion of the train was expected to resume its journey after operational clearances.
The incident disrupted rail traffic on the busy Delhi-Mumbai route for nearly two hours while rescue operations and safety inspections were carried out.
Railway authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire.
The incident comes less than two weeks after another fire broke out in two AC coaches of the Hyderabad-Jaipur Special Express at Nampally Railway Station on May 15. No casualties were reported in that incident either.
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