The Railway Board has told all zonal railways to ensure that mobile phone and laptop charging points in train coaches stay switched off between 11 pm and 5 am, with no exceptions, after a passenger's power bank exploded on a train and filled the coach with smoke.
In a letter dated October 26, the board said the incident in the South Eastern Railway zone happened because onboard staff had not switched off the charging points during the restricted hours, after which a passenger's power bank exploded while charging. All concerned staff must be briefed, and supervisors and officers must carry out surprise inspections to enforce compliance, the board said.
The instruction reiterates a 2014 order rather than framing a new rule. That order followed a fire in an AC three-tier coach of the Hazur Sahib Nanded-KSR Bengaluru Express in 2013, in the Bengaluru division of South Western Railway. The Commissioner of Railway Safety, Southern Circle, had recommended switching off charging points in air-conditioned coaches between 10 pm and 6 am; the board fixed the narrower 11 pm to 5 am window citing safety and passenger convenience, and asked railways to put up stickers in AC coaches informing passengers of the restriction.
Passengers have been advised to charge their phones and other devices before starting an overnight journey, since the points will not work during those hours.
The matter drew renewed attention after a November 2023 fire in a sleeper coach of the New Delhi-Darbhanga Humsafar Clone Special spread to adjoining coaches. The CRS suggested extending the night ban to sleeper coaches, but the board held that staffing non-air-conditioned coaches for enforcement was not feasible given the cost, according to reports. South East Central Railway has separately reminded its divisions of the existing air-conditioned coach rules, warning of fire hazards and of theft risk from devices left charging unattended.
(With inputs from PTI and media reports)