Around 1,500 passengers were safely evacuated after a fire broke out in coaches of the Amritsar-New Jalpaiguri Karmabhoomi Express near Sarai Banjara railway station in Punjab on Friday afternoon, prompting the Railways and district administration to halt traffic and arrange two special trains for stranded travellers.
The incident occurred on the Rajpura-Ambala-Delhi route near Sarai Banjara. Railway officials said no casualties or major injuries were reported. The fire was brought under control through a coordinated response involving railway teams, local residents, the civil administration, police and fire brigade personnel.
The district administration received information about the fire around 1.30pm and sent ambulances, fire brigade teams and police personnel to the site. Railway officials switched off power to both overhead electric lines as a safety measure. The loco pilot and guard detached the affected coaches from the rest of the train to prevent the fire from spreading to other coaches.
Two special trains were subsequently operated from Sarai Banjara towards New Jalpaiguri to ferry passengers to their destination. The Railways and Punjab administration also arranged food, drinking water and transport. Punjab Transport buses and locally available vehicles were deployed, while passengers received food, tea and biscuits. A langar was organised with the help of a local gurdwara.
Doctors were deployed at Sarai Banjara station to examine passengers, while Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force personnel assisted with rescue and relief operations. Patiala Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal and SSP Harmandeep Hans visited the site. Other officials involved in the response included Rajpura SDM Ravinder Singh, SP Bikram Brar and DSP Manjit Singh.
Rail traffic on both sides of the affected section was halted as a precaution while the damaged coaches were removed and the railway section was cleared. Ambala Division Divisional Railway Manager Vinod Bhatia said railway safety mechanisms were activated immediately after the fire was detected. He added that a detailed forensic investigation would establish the cause of the blaze.
SSP Hans said the situation was completely under control and that police and railway personnel had worked in close coordination. Restoration of normal rail traffic remained linked to the removal of the damaged coaches and clearance of the affected section.
