‘Rajdhani staff got us out,spread blankets on field till help came’

Most passengers commended the swift reaction of the Railways staff that helped all arrive safely at their destination.

Moving at an average speed of 87.47 km/hr,one of the two pantry cars caught fire,which soon spread to two adjoining coaches. It was 2.20 am and the train was between Alot and Thuriya stations in Ratlam,Madhya Pradesh.

“As the train was speeding,the fire spread to adjoining coaches — B6 and B7. The pantry car was totally gutted by the time the train stopped,” an official of the Western Railway (WR) said.

Ravi Mohan Sharma,Divisional Commercial Manager-Ratlam,said preliminary investigation suggests a short-circuit in the pantry car.

Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway Manish Tiwari said a full inquiry would establish the real cause of fire. “The Railways announced ex-gratia compensation of Rs 5,000 for all passengers in coaches B6 and B7. Rs 10.55 lakh has already been distributed as compensation to the 211 passengers who approached us after the train arrived in New Delhi.”

According to eyewitnesses,pantry staff woke up passengers and asked them to move towards other end of the train. They collected blankets and fire extinguishers and attempted to douse the blaze. Railway officials detached the three burning coaches at the Thuriya station to prevent the fire from spreading.

Shroff,a resident of Mumbai,who was taking a group of 32 senior citizens on an adventure tourism excursion to Chandigarh via Delhi,said: “We were in B7,the bogie that caught fire. Timely action meant everything got sorted out without much panic. Baggage was damaged,but no one was injured. Everyone was rushed to safety. People do get into a state of shock on seeing a burning train,but all blankets were spread on the field (where the train stopped) for people to relax till help came,” he said.

Mohammad Zaki,a passenger in coach B6 who shared with The Indian Express his photographs of the blaze,said: “It is amazing how these boys responded so quickly.”