Spare coach parked at Mumbai railway yard catches fire

A spare coach parked in the railway yard at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) caught fire on Tuesday afternoon.

The fire started at 3pm, and was doused by 3.40pm. Twenty fire-fighters and two water tankers were rushed to the spot to douse the blaze.

The Central Railway (CR) shut down the overhead railway equipment as a precautionary measure, so outstation trains did not depart from CSMT for a while; services resumed by 4.45pm.

While the sleeper coach was charred completely, the fire also damaged one of the air-conditioned coaches of Solapur Express, which was parked next to it. Officials managed to move the Solapur Express coach away from the burning coach before there could be more damage. Both coaches were unoccupied.

A fire broke out in a coach of a train parked at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway yard. (ANI Photo)

The cause of the fire has not yet been established. CR has ordered an enquiry in the incident. “We have called the forensic department, and they will inspect the site. We cannot rule out miscreants either. We will be able to determine the cause only after investigation. But we plan to increase security in the yards,” said SK Pankaj, senior deputy general manager, CR.