Key Highlights
- Incident:A fire broke out on the Amritsar-New Jalpaiguri Karmabhoomi Express.
- Location:The fire occurred near Sarai Banjara railway station in Punjab.
- Casualties:No injuries or casualties reported due to swift evacuation efforts.
PATIALA DISTRICT, PUNJAB — A chaotic emergency unfolded aboard the Amritsar–New Jalpaiguri Karmabhoomi Express on Friday afternoon when a sudden fire broke out in multiple general coaches near Sarai Banjara railway station, triggering mass panic and forcing hundreds of passengers to flee into nearby fields.
The blaze erupted shortly after the train departed Sadhu Garh railway station along the Rajpura-Sirhind section. Passengers reported noticing dense smoke billowing from an unreserved compartment before flames rapidly spread across adjoining cars, ultimately gutting four general coaches. Preliminary findings indicate that a short circuit in a coach fan may have sparked the initial blaze.
Prompt action by the loco pilot, who applied emergency brakes, allowed the train to come to a complete halt near Sarai Banjara. Eyewitnesses described chaotic scenes as passengers leapt from the carriages and scrambled into adjacent agricultural fields to escape the engulfing smoke and intense heat. Emergency teams quickly decoupled the burning cars from the rest of the train to prevent the inferno from spreading further down the line.
Firefighting tenders from neighboring stations and medical teams from the Ambala Railway Division rushed to the location, successfully bringing the blaze under control. Officials confirmed that owing to the swift evacuation, no casualties or major injuries were reported. Railway authorities have launched a formal inquiry and arranged alternate transport to carry affected passengers toward their destinations in West Bengal.
Senior officials from the Northern Railway zone arrived at the site shortly after the incident to supervise track clearing and evaluate structural damage to the rails and overhead wiring system. Train services along the busy Rajpura-Sirhind corridor experienced temporary delays as engineers worked to tow the charred carriages to a side track and inspect the line for heat distortion before reopening the route to regular passenger traffic.
In response to the mishap, Indian Railways announced an immediate safety audit targeting electrical fittings, wiring insulation, and cooling mechanisms across all long-distance express trains operating in the region. Railway safety inspectors will focus on preventing electrical short circuits in older general coaches and ensuring that emergency brake mechanisms and fire suppression equipment are fully functional ahead of peak travel periods.
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