Jalandhar, May 31
Passengers of the Amritsar-bound 2497 Up New Delhi-Amritsar Shan-e-Punjab were in panic when they spotted “smoke and fire” in train’s engine near Mauli Railway station between Goraya and Phagwara at 1.40 pm.
Some of the passengers started crying and reportedly jumped off the train when it was at a slow speed.
The Railway authorities, said that there was no fire and it was only smoke which was noticed in the train’s engine and that measures were taken to avert mishap.
As driver of the train Manjit Singh spotted the “smoke”, coming out of a pipe in the engine, he stopped the train when it was entering platform number two of the Phagwara Railway station, where waiting passengers joined the passengers in the train and Railway officials, railway police officials to put out the “smoke and fire”. Fire engines from Kapurthala, Jalandhar and Phagwara were pressed into service after the incident. Driver Manjit Singh had a hard time in controlling the fire with the help of four fire extinguishers in the driver cabin.
Senior Railway officials, including Mr Shyam Sunder, Jalandhar — based Assistant Traffic Manager (ATM) reached the spot. Later, the engine was detached by Manjit Singh and Mr Gurnam Singh, a Railway police official, from the coaches with the help of passengers. The train proceeded to destination at 2.55 pm after its engine was replaced with that of a goods train halted at the Phagwara Railway station.
As a precautionary measure the 2471 Up Mumbai-Jammu Tawi Express was stopped near outer signal of the Railway station.
Mr R.P. Singh, guard of the train, maintained that there was only smoke in the train’s engine. It was controlled by Railway employees. The Railway authorities have ordered a high level probe by a three-member committee to find out the cause of fire.
