PATNA: Four coaches of a passenger train were gutted in a fire in Bihar’s Mokama railway yard on Wednesday, an official said. No one was injured in the incident.

The coaches were of a MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) passenger train that caught fire around midnight.

At the time of the incident the train was stationed at the yard, around 80 km from Patna.

“The train had arrived in Mokama at 10.28pm. The fire was spotted in two of its coaches at 1.15am. Soon the fire spread to two other coaches,” a Railway Ministry official in Delhi said.

“The remaining 12 coaches of the train were saved as they were separated by the railway staff,” the official said.

The fire brigade from Barh, 30 km away from the spot, reached and completely doused the flames by 3.30am.

There has been no disruption though on the Patna-Howrah route due to the incident.

An inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of fire,” the official added.

Separately, with intense cold conditions continuing across Bihar, academic activities in all public and private schools have been badly affected.

Patna District Magistrate Kumar Ravi has extended suspension of classes up to standard 8 in all schools till Jan.13.

Apart from Patna, district authorities in Purnea, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Bhojpur, Darbhanga and Bhagalpur, among others, have also suspended classes till Jan.13. A met official said a major part of Bihar was in the grip of cold and the condition will continue till the next 48 hours.

“Most of north-west and north central parts of Bihar are facing a cold spell due to cold winds coming from the snow-laden Himalayan region. There is little chance of respite from cold conditions in the coming two days,” the official said.