Patiala: Around 1,500 passengers were safely evacuated after a fire broke out in coaches of the Amritsar-New Jalpaiguri Karam Bhoomi Express near Sarai Banjara railway station on the Rajpura-Ambala-Delhi route on Friday afternoon. Railway officials said no casualties or major injuries were reported.Patiala GRP DSP Gurdeep Singh said some passengers were taken to hospitals in Rajpura and Fatehgarh Sahib, while medical teams from the Ambala Railway Division rushed to the spot.Rajpura civil hospital received 15 passengers, including eight with minor burn injuries, while one passenger was treated at Fatehgarh Sahib Civil Hospital. All of them were stated to be stable, doctors said.The fire reportedly broke out shortly after the train crossed Sadhugarh village around 1pm. Smoke quickly engulfed the affected coaches as the train was passing through the Sarai Banjara-Basantpura stretch, about 15 km from Rajpura.Four general coaches were detached after the fire. Railway officials said the fourth coach was separated as a precaution despite suffering no major damage, except for a partially damaged door.The district administration dispatched ambulances, fire brigade teams and police personnel after receiving information about the incident around 1.30 pm. The blaze was brought under control with the assistance of local residents, railway staff, and civil, police and fire department teams.SHO Gurpreet Singh said, “Four fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames. Prima facie, a fan in one of the coaches developed a short circuit, triggering the fire. After passengers raised an alarm, the train was brought to a halt.”Maninder Mohan (56), who was later discharged from Fatehgarh Sahib hospital, said he was travelling to Muzaffarpur when smoke filled the coach. “I broke an emergency windowpane and jumped out to escape, sustaining minor injuries,” he said.Ambala divisional railway manager Vinod Bhatia said railway safety protocols were activated immediately after the fire was detected. Train movement on both sides of the affected section was suspended as a precaution and restored only after the track was declared safe.Bhatia said a detailed forensic investigation would ascertain the cause of the fire. Patiala SSP Harmandeep Hans said the situation was brought under control swiftly, with police and railway personnel working in close coordination.As a safety measure, railway officials switched off power supply to both overhead electric lines. The loco pilot and guard detached the affected coaches from the rest of the train to prevent the fire from spreading further.Patiala deputy commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal and SSP Harmandeep Hans visited the site. SDM Rajpura Ravinder Singh, SP Bikram Brar, DSP Manjit Singh and other officials also joined the rescue and relief operation. Personnel of the GRP and RPF assisted in evacuation and passenger assistance, while medical teams were deployed at Sarai Banjara station.The Railways and the Punjab administration arranged food, drinking water and transport for the affected passengers. Punjab Roadways buses and other locally available vehicles were deployed, while food packets, tea and biscuits were distributed. A langar was also organised with support from the local gurdwara.Two special trains were later operated from Sarai Banjara towards New Jalpaiguri to facilitate the onward journey of stranded passengers, while efforts continued to remove the damaged coaches and restore normal rail traffic.
