INDORE: A major disaster was averted early Sunday morning after a fire broke out on the Trivandrum Central–Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express (Train No. 12431) in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district.While all 68 passengers inside the affected coach were evacuated safely, a subsequent relief vehicle rushing to the spot met with an accident, leaving over five railway employees seriously injured.The Rajdhani Express departed from Ratlam Junction at approximately 3.45am, heading toward its next scheduled stop at Kota Junction in Rajasthan. However, around 5.15am, a fire broke out in the AC 3-tier coach (B-1) between the Luni Richha and Vikramgarh Alot stations.Panic ensued as smoke filled the compartment, which was carrying 68 passengers. Thanks to a swift response, the entire coach was completely evacuated within 15 minutes, preventing any casualties.The flames quickly spread to the adjacent Second Luggage-cum-Guard Van. Local villagers rushed to the scene alongside railway officials and the fire brigade to assist.To prevent the fire from spreading further, technical teams disconnected the power supply and detached both affected coaches from the rest of the train. The B-1 coach was reportedly gutted in the incident.In a grim turn of events, a Carriage and Wagon (C&W) department traffic van en route to the site to assist with relief operations met with an accident.The driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle between Shamgarh and Suwasra, causing the van to flip over into a roadside gorge.More than five railway employees sustained severe injuries. Emergency rescue teams rushed to the site and transported the injured workers to a hospital in Kota via ambulance. The exact cause of the vehicle crash is still under investigation.The incident completely halted traffic on the busy Delhi-Mumbai railway route for several hours. To assist anxious relatives and passengers, Western Railway has set up dedicated help desks at Nagda, Ujjain, and Ratlam stations.Sourabh Jain, senior manager (commercial, Ratlam division) confirmed that single-line operations have been temporarily initiated on the ‘Up’ line to clear stalled traffic from both directions.Technical teams remain on-site to repair the ‘Down’ track and restore normal dual-line operations as quickly as possible.
