Indian Railways curbs charging of smartphones, other electronic devices during night in trains

As a precautionary measure against fire on trains, the Indian Railways has decided to curb passengers from using mobile charging stations onboard between 11:00 pm and 5:00 am, senior officials said on Tuesday.

In this regard, the western division of the railway has already started cutting off supply to these charging ports in the trains between this period.

"It is a Railway Board instruction for all railways. We have started implementing it from March 16," CPRO (Chief Public Relation Officer) of Western Railway, Sumit Thakur, told PTI.

Similarly, Southern Railway CPRO B Guganesan told PTI that these instructions are not new, but a reiteration of earlier orders of the Railway Board.

The Commissioner of Railway Safety, in 2014, had recommended that charging stations be switched off between 11 pm and 5 am, soon after a fire incident in the Bangalore-Hazur Sahib Nanded Express.

"In view of the recent incidents of fire, we have done the needful. It is a precautionary measure and even earlier the Railway Board had issued such orders. The power from the main switchboard for these points will be switched off from 11 pm to 5 am," Guganesan said while speaking to PTI.

Many incidents of minor fires, reported onboard long-distance trains, were caused due to overcharging of electronic devices, officials said.

Recently, a coach of the Dehradun-bound Shatabdi Express caught fire in a suspected case of a short circuit on March 13. Barely six days later, a fire broke out in the engine of a static goods train at the Ranchi station.

The railways, earlier last week, had announced a slew of measures against smoking and carrying inflammable materials on the train and premises of railways.

Indian Railways has instructed zonal railways to initiate an intensive awareness drive of seven days to educate all the stakeholders, including railway users and employees, about precautions to be taken against fire incidents.