The fire mishap onboard a train in Madurai on August 26 that resulted in the death of 9 passengers from Lucknow has been blamed on a cooking gas cylinder which exploded when passengers started to prepare tea in the early hours of Saturday. The accident raises many questions about the safety and amenities of the passengers who travel in chartered coaches and the guidelines on carrying inflammable materials during the journey.
Marimuthu, Joint Coordinator of Tamil Nadu Rail Passengers Right Tribune said if the coach was kept near the railway station, the passengers would’ve got their tea or coffee from station platforms rather than preparing it on their own. “Without many options, they started to cook inside the coach which turned fatal,” he said.
The IRCTC allows FTR booking on 298 trains. While chartered trains and saloon coaches give the option of cooking their own food for passengers sleeper coaches do not have such facilities and carrying inflammable materials are prohibited according to railway officials. Marimuthu said such passengers would cook on the platforms or on available space next to their coaches while at railway stations. However, no action has been taken against such passengers, despite there being a ban on carrying inflammable articles in the train, he said.
Private parties can book the entire train or coaches on the IRCTC’s FTR (Full Tariff Rate) website. As per IRCTC website, a party can book a maximum of 2 coaches on FTR in a single train and a private party has to pay a registration cum security deposit of Rs 50 thousand per coach. These coaches can be attached or detached only in those stations where the train halting time is more than 10 minutes.
According to the Southern Railways bulletin, a travel agent M/s Bhasin Travels, Sitapur had booked this coach online through IRCTC. They booked sleeper (SL) coaches which carried 63 passengers from Lucknow. Talking to TNM, Gunanesan, Chief Public Relations Officer of the Southern Railways said that the coach does not have any kitchen as saloon and charter coaches have, and inflammable items are banned to carry.
Coaches are detached at stations so that pilgrims can visit local destinations in their itinerary. Marimuthu alleged that the coach that met with the fire accident was halted 1km away from the station.
“How did railway personnel miss noticing people carrying gas cylinders to the coach? How did it escape the security when they commenced their journey in Lucknow?,” he asked.
It is welcome that the state government and the railways have announced ex-gratia to family members of the victims but the government should ensure stringent actions against railway personnel who were careless and let the passengers carry cooking cylinders in the train, he said.
Around 63 passengers started their pilgrimage to Tamil Nadu to visit the Hindu religious sites on August 17 from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. On August 25, they were in Kanniyakumari to visit several temples. After they offered prayers, they returned to their coach, which was attached to the Punalur-Madurai Express (16730) at Nagercoil. When the train reached the outskirts of Madurai, the coach was detached and kept at the Madurai stabling line between platforms 5 and 6, around a km away from the Madurai Railway Station. The cylinder exploded at around 5.15 am when passengers started to make tea in the coach, which was locked from inside.
The fatal accident killed nine people and their bodies have been kept in Madurai Government Rajaji Hospital. The Tamil Nadu government has said that it would take the mortal remains of the deceased to their native towns in Uttar Pradesh and announced Rs 3 lakh for family members of those who died in the accident.