Rail traffic was restored after more than seven hours, while an investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.
The fire broke out at 5.15 am in the B-1 coach between Vikramgarh Alot and Lunirichha stations under the Kota railway division.
The affected coach was detached from the rake, and the train resumed its journey around 9.45 am, Shrivastava said.
Arrangements were made to accommodate affected passengers in other coaches for their onward journey, Kota railway PRO Ravindra Lakhara said.
“The repair work of the overhead equipment on the Delhi-bound up line, where the train caught fire, was completed around 1 pm.
A fire broke out on the Thiruvananthapuram-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district on Sunday morning, damaging two coaches and disrupting traffic on the Mumbai-Delhi route for several hours, officials said.
No casualties were reported in the train fire. However, in a related incident, a van carrying repair equipment to the site overturned in the district, injuring five railway staffers.
Train schedules on the Mumbai-Delhi route were affected after the blaze damaged overhead electric equipment. Rail traffic was restored after more than seven hours, while an investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.
The Thiruvananthapuram-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express (Train No. 12431) had departed Ratlam Junction at around 3.45 am. The fire broke out at 5.15 am in the B-1 coach between Vikramgarh Alot and Lunirichha stations under the Kota railway division. The blaze also damaged the luggage-cum-guard van attached behind the coach, West Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Harshit Shrivastava told PTI.
The B-1 coach was carrying 68 passengers and was evacuated within 15 minutes. Railway authorities immediately switched off the overhead electric supply, and the fire was brought under control. The affected coach was detached from the rake, and the train resumed its journey around 9.45 am, Shrivastava said.
The train reached Kota at 1.15 pm and departed at 2.30 pm, officials said. Arrangements were made to accommodate affected passengers in other coaches for their onward journey, Kota railway PRO Ravindra Lakhara said.
Several trains were halted at different stations following the incident. According to officials, the movement of 13 passenger trains was affected.
“The repair work of the overhead equipment on the Delhi-bound up line, where the train caught fire, was completed around 1 pm. On the down Delhi-Mumbai line, it was completed at 8.30 am,” Lakhara said.
