Passengers inside an AC coach of the Tinsukia-Bengaluru Superfast Express had a narrow escape on Saturday as smoke was detected in the compartment they were travelling in. The compartment was soon replaced at the Malda station in West Bengal. An Eastern Railway spokesperson while talking to the news agency PTI said that smoke was detected in the B1 coach as soon as the train started moving from Malda junction after its halt, at around 7 pm. The spokesperson said, "The train was immediately brought back to Malda, the concerned coach was replaced by another compartment and the train left around 9:30 pm."
According to the official, no injuries or casualties were reported following the incident. The spokesperson said that the reason for the smoke was still being probed.
Earlier on August 19, a similar incident was reported when a fire broke out in the Udyan Express after it reached Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station in Karnataka's Bengaluru. However, the fire broke out in this train two hours after the passengers of this train had already deboarded. According to the South-Western Railway, no casualties or injuries were reported.
The station authorities noticed the smoke emanating from the train's locomotive at around 7 am and raised an alarm immediately following which rapid action was taken into the matter.
In another similar case that took place on the same day, August 19, Udaipur city-Khajuraho train was stopped at Sitholi railway station in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior after a fire was reported in the train engine. Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Northern Central Railway, Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay while talking about the incident said, "Smoke was noticed in the engine of train number 19666 Udaipur - Khajuraho Express near Sitholi. Immediately the train was stopped and the OHE (Over Head Equipment-Cantilever) was shut down. The smoke has been controlled. The train will be sent soon towards the destination by installing another engine. The cause of the incident is being investigated."