The Railway Board has issued a directive to all zonal railways, instructing them to initiate a fire safety campaign starting this month. This decision was prompted by a series of recent cases of fire incidents in trains, with the objective of preventing accidents during the current festive season.
In a letter to the General Managers (GMs), the railway board has suggested three steps to prevent fire. It also wants the zonal railways to ensure that people should not send crackers or any other inflammable material through railway parcel vans.
On October 25, two coaches of the Patalkot Express caught fire in Agra district of Uttar Pradesh, leaving at least nine passengers injured. The train was heading to Seoni in Madhya Pradesh from Firozpur Cantonment in Punjab when the fire broke out in the third and fourth coaches from the engine around 15:45 hrs. The express train runs between Firozpur Cantonment in Punjab and Seoni in Madhya Pradesh.
In August, a fire broke out in two air-conditioned coaches of the stationary Udyan Express at the Bengaluru City Railway Station. There were no casualties as no passengers were inside the train when the fire broke out.
The carrying out of inflammable articles, explosives and firecrackers in trains create a highly unsafe situation. It is a punishable offence under section 67, 154, 164 and 165 of The Railways Act 1989, with a punishment up to three years jail or fine up to Rs 1000 or both, besides being liable for the loss or injury or damage caused.
