Six empty coaches of two Rajdhani trains were gutted in a fire on Tuesday afternoon at New Delhi Railway Station’s maintenance yard, hitting train services and prompting authorities to order a high-level enquiry into the incident. Empty coaches of the Bhubaneswar and Sealdah Rajdhani expresses were parked for maintenance and cleaning when fire broke out around 12.15 pm, the Northern Railways said. However, nobody was injured in the fire, which was brought
under control after the Delhi Fire Services pressed 20 fire tenders into service.
The Delhi Police officials said that a case has been registered at New Delhi Railway police station. The preliminary investigation suggests that fire could have broken out due to short-circuit in one of the bogeys. Officials said that some diesel had leaked from the engines and that might have been a catalyst in the inferno.
The Delhi Police, however, has not ruled out it to be an act of mischief. A few years ago Old Delhi Railway Station had witnessed a series of mysterious fire in the coaches parked in the yards. Investigators suspect the same modus operandi being employed by anti-social elements.
Train operations remain affected at the New Delhi railway station following the incident and several trains approaching it were halted midway as the power supply to the Over-Head Electrical line was withdrawn as a precautionary measure.
“The fire started in two coaches of Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani. The Sealdah Rajdhani was parked on the adjoining line and four coaches of this train also caught fire,” Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of Northern Railways, Neeraj Sharma, told reporters here.
The departure timings of the Bhubaneswar and Sealdah Rajdhani were rescheduled due to the incident, he said. Meanwhile, a high-level enquiry has been ordered into the incident by the General Manager of Northern Railways. “A senior officials’ committee has been formed by the GM to enquire into the incident. The damage is being assessed,” Sharma said.