Patna: A coach of the Samastipur-Saharsa MEMU train caught fire at Simri Bakhtiyarpur railway station in Saharsa district early Monday, triggering panic among passengers and disrupting rail traffic for nearly two hours. No casualties or injuries were reported, though one coach gutted in the blaze.According to Samastipur divisional railway manager (DRM) Jyoti Prakash Mishra, the incident occurred around 3.10am when the train arrived at platform no. 2 of Simri Bakhtiyarpur station. As flames spread through the coach, loco pilot Murari Kumar and assistant loco pilot Deepak Kumar safely evacuated passengers. As a precaution, railway authorities switched off the overhead electric (OHE) line.Railway staff initially tried to douse the fire using extinguishers, but the blaze intensified after the oil transformer box beneath the coach caught fire. Fire tenders were then rushed to the station. After an extensive firefighting operation, the blaze was brought under control around 5.30am. Mishra said he personally supervised the operation along with other senior railway officials.Of the 12 coaches in the MEMU rake, one was badly gutted in the fire. Mishra said the alertness of the loco pilots helped avert a major disaster. The incident disrupted train movement for nearly two hours, delaying several trains, including the Saharsa-Patna, Manihari-Jaynagar, Saharsa-Samastipur and Shrawani Mela Special services.The exact cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained. The railway administration has ordered a technical examination by experts from Sonepur, Jhajha, Kanchrapara and the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), Lucknow. The team is expected to visit the site on Tuesday.A high-level inquiry has also been ordered into the incident. Sources said the MEMU rake was maintained at the Sonepur MEMU shed.
