Much to the embarrassment of Railway officials, Ranchi - lohardaga Passenger Train, connected for the first time with an electric engine on Thursday, caught fire within an hour after the overhead high tension wire fell over it at Nagjua Station, 47 km from here.
Though no injuries were reported during the mishap, hundreds of passengers remained stranded in the train for over three hours till a diesel engine came and took them to their destinations.
Acting immediately after the incident, Divisional Railway Manager of Ranchi Rail Division Vijay Kumar Gupta ordered an inquiry forming a two-member committee involving Railway Officials seeking a report.
“As soon as the train departed from Nagjua Station on Ranchi-lohardaga line at 6.05 am, one of the four insulators fitted on the engine got damaged and caught fire due to which the overhead wire fell over it,” said Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Avinash Kumar. Due to alertness of the loco Pilots on board, a major accident was averted as the overhead electric was immediately disconnected by them, he added.
“They immediately got control over the fire using the fire extinguishers available in the brake van with the help of station employees, who also rushed there after the incident,” said the Senior DCM. No casualties took place during the incident but the train will now run as schedule with diesel engine from Friday, he added.
A tower van was rushed to the spot which somehow repaired the overhead wire followed by a diesel engine, which was connected to the train and the train departed at 9:05 am, three hours late than its scheduled time.
He said that the Commissioner of Rail Safety PK Acharya had inspected the line following which Goods Train fitted with electric engine ferried over it without any problem.
Remarkably, Commissioner of Rail Safety had given its approval for running electric trains on Ranchi - lohardaga line after inspecting it on March 21 during which a loco trial was also run at a speed of 40 km per hour.
The electrification work was started in March 2017 and was completed recently in March this year and if extended till Tori, this line is expected to cut short the distance between Ranchi to Delhi via lohardaga – Tori by 106 km and cut - short the travel time by at least 1.5 - 2 hours.