A major fire broke out in an air-conditioned coach of the Rajdhani Express near Kota early Sunday morning, prompting an emergency evacuation of passengers.
The incident occurred around 5:15 am in the B-1 coach of Train No. 12431, the Thiruvananthapuram–Delhi Rajdhani Express, near Vikramgarh Alot railway station in Rajasthan. Officials confirmed that all 68 passengers in the affected coach were safely rescued and no injuries were reported.
Railway authorities immediately detached the damaged coach from the train and switched off the overhead electric supply (OHE) to prevent further danger. Thick black smoke was seen rising from the coach, and nearby vegetation along the tracks also caught fire.
Passengers were safely shifted to other coaches for the remainder of the journey toward Delhi. Railway officials said an additional coach would be attached at Kota station to restore the train’s full carrying capacity.
The Indian Railways has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire.
The Rajdhani Express had departed from Thiruvananthapuram on Friday and was scheduled to arrive at Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station later Sunday afternoon. At the time of the incident, the train had already covered approximately 2,600 kilometres and was about 450 kilometres away from Delhi.
The incident comes just a day after another railway fire was reported on an empty Hyderabad–Jaipur Special Train in Hyderabad, where no injuries were reported after affected coaches were detached.