A three-member team has been constituted to probe the reason for the fire mishap in Chennai-Alleppey Express, Salem divisional railway manager Sujatha Jayaraj said.
She inspected the train with other officials of Southern Railway. Later, talking to Express, she said, “The last compartment (SLR) of the train is segregated into 3 parts-women’s, differently-abled and luggage section. The fire was noticed in the luggage section at 4 am.”
She said, “Once he noticed the fire, guard Thomas, who was travelling in the compartment, informed the firemen. The fire was extinguished soon and another SLR was attached to the train and it left for Alleppey at 8.45 am.”Movement of trains on the section was, however, not much affected.
In the mishap, many electrical and electronic goods in the luggage section were damaged. The loss, she said, was yet to be ascertained as well as the reason for the mishap.
“Our electrical circuit in the compartment was intact. Passengers did not suffer. Anyhow, we have constituted a three-member official team to conduct a probe. Only after getting a report, the reason for the mishap can be known,” Sujatha maintained. She, however, ruled out the possibility of sabotage.
The railway official said that the train left Chennai Central at 9.15 pm on Wednesday and was due to reach Alleppey at 10 am. But, due to the mishap, it was stopped for nearly four hour at Perundurai.