A major fire broke out in the B-1 coach of the Thiruvananthapuram-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district early Sunday morning, prompting an emergency evacuation of all passengers onboard the affected compartment. Railway officials confirmed that no casualties or injuries were reported.
According to officials, the incident occurred around 5.15 am between Vikramgarh Alot and Lunirichha stations under the Kota railway division. The train, numbered 12431, was travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi and had departed Ratlam Junction around 3.45 am.
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Railway authorities said the train guard first noticed flames emerging from the B-1 coach and immediately alerted the loco pilot. The train was halted and emergency evacuation procedures were launched. Around 68 passengers travelling in the coach were safely deboarded within minutes.
Officials also disconnected the overhead electric supply to prevent further danger and began firefighting operations. During the incident, the blaze spread to the luggage-cum-guard van attached behind the affected coach.
After several hours of firefighting efforts, railway staff managed to bring the blaze under control. The damaged B-1 coach and guard van were later detached from the train before it resumed its journey at approximately 9.45 am.
Passengers from the affected compartment were accommodated in other coaches until Kota station, where railway authorities planned to attach an additional coach to restore capacity.
Following the incident, Indian Railways ordered a high-level investigation into the cause of the fire and announced a nationwide audit of fire safety systems across train coaches. Railway officials are currently examining the affected equipment to determine the source of the blaze.
The incident disrupted movement on the busy Delhi-Mumbai rail corridor, affecting several trains. According to reports, this is the second major fire incident involving train coaches within two weeks.
