Early this past Sunday morning, a big fire suddenly started inside a coach of the Thiruvananthapuram-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani train, and it created a lot of panic among the passengers , leading to an emergency evacuation in Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh. Railway officials said the incident happened in the B-1 coach of train No. 12431 , between Luni Richha and Vikramgarh Alot stations. This was on the Kota division under the West Central Railway zone, around 5:30 AM. Officials noted that during the event there were 68 passengers onboard in the affected coach. Luckily, there have been no injuries or casualties reported so far.
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Fire in one of the coach of Rajdhani Express Train No. 12431 between Ratlam station and Kota Jn. Fire services here. pic.twitter.com/DFWZHBevvq
— Kartik Tiwari (@kartiktiwarii) May 17, 2026
The train guard first noticed smoke and flames coming out from the coach , then he informed the loco pilot. The train was stopped right away and emergency steps were taken immediately. RPF personnel, along with on-board staff and other officials, began moving passengers out from the relevant compartment. Officials said all passengers were safely taken down from the coach within roughly 15 minutes. The fast response is believed to have prevented a far more severe situation, and that is why things stayed controlled.
Aftermath Of The Fire
As soon as the overhead electric (OHE) power supply was disconnected, it was done to protect the passengers safety and to stop the fire from spreading. After that, the railway companies took away the damaged B-1 coach from the rest of the rake, kind of in a hurry. Following the incident , the Kota Railway Division along with relief and rescue teams were rushed to the site. In an official statement, the West Central Railway said that nobody, meaning no passengers or railway staff, was hurt, and that the evacuation and rescue drill turned out to be successful. Even after the blaze was put out, emergency crews stayed on to cool , and also to examine the fire area, just to be sure everything was safe.
What Was The Cause Of The Fire?
This fire incident , moreover, created a delay in train movement on the crowded Delhi-Mumbai line for nearly 2 hours, while officials carried out safety verifications and rescue work at the spot. Railway officials have already begun looking into the exact reason behind the fire. Meanwhile , the technical teams are inspecting the damaged coach and other electrical parts to figure out whether it started due to a mechanical fault, an electrical issue, or something entirely different. More details will come only after the official inquiry is wrapped up. For now, the railway authorities are keeping a close watch , so passenger safety stays the priority and normal operations can restart smoothly on the route.
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