Fire onboard private railway coach leaves at least 9 dead, several others injured

A fire broke out onboard a private party railway coach stationed near the Madurai station in Tamil Nadu early on Saturday, leaving at least nine passengers dead and several others injured. The train, to which the coach was attached, hailed from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and was headed to Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu. 

The fire service, which was informed immediately after the incident was reported at 5:15 am, reached the site at 5:45 am, according to a statement by the Southern Railway, one of the zones of the Indian Railways. The blaze was put out at 7:15 am, preventing damage to other coaches, it said. 

The impacted coach, attached to a Punalur Madurai Express train (No. 16730) at the Nagercoil Junction on Friday, reached Madurai at 3.47 am. It was then detached and parked at the Madurai stabling line when the incident happened. 

The passengers onboard the private party coach had illegally smuggled a gas cylinder, which caused the fire, according to the Southern Railways. 
Many passengers had exited the coach on noticing fire while others were at the platform itself.

The party coach had started its journey from Lucknow on August 17. It was scheduled to return to Chennai on Sunday by a Kollam-Chennai Egmore Anantapuri Express train (No. 16824), and then to Lucknow. 

It is illegal to carry inflammable material onboard trains as per railway laws

Individuals can book a party coach using the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) portal but are not allowed to carry any inflammable material such as a gas cylinder onboard trains.

The coach is to be used only for transportation purposes.

A punishable offense 

As per railway laws, carrying inflammable articles, such as gas cylinders, crackers, acid, kerosene, petrol, thermic welding, stoves, and explosives, is a punishable offense. The railway manual states that private tourist parties should give a written declaration that they will not carry any inflammable article during their journey.

The private party involved in the August 26 fire accident had also submitted a declaration to this effect. The part had illegally carried the gas cylinder, a stove.

The Southern Railway appealed to rail passengers not to carry any inflammable or explosive items, and to travel with utmost safety.

Railway authorities promised compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of the deceased. 

Tamil Nadu train fire | An ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh announced to the family of the deceased: Southern Railway. https://t.co/MgXuD4CDir

— ANI (@ANI) August 26, 2023

The Balasore, Odisha train tragedy

On June 2, at least 288 people lost their lives to a crash at the Bahanaga Bazar station in the Balasore district of Odisha, while more than 1,000 sustained injuries. The Balasore accident, which was the worst rail crash in the country in two decades, raised questions about whether safety is getting enough attention. 

The crash happened when the Coromandel Express, heading to Chennai from Kolkata, wrongly entered a side track of the station and rammed into a stationary iron ore freight train.