The pantry car of Yasvantapur-Tatanagar Express train bound for Tatanagar caught fire near Gollaprolu railway station in the Rajahmundry-Visakapatnam section in Andhra Pradesh early Tuesday but no casualties were reported, railway officials said.

The train had started at Yasvantapur in Karnataka at 8:30 am on Monday. The fire started at 1:47 am Tuesday near the Gollaprolu station and Railway personnel on board quickly initiated measures to prevent the spread of the blaze to other compartments. The train was stopped at Gollaprolu station and the pantry car was detached from the train, said the South Central Railway General Manager Gajanan Malya.

A coach of the train (S1) adjacent to the pantry car was also detached as a precaution, Malya said.

Fire engines put out the blaze within 20 minutes after it broke out. The overhead electrical equipment was switched off as a safety measure and train services in both the directions were stopped instantly, Malya said.

Senior Officials of Vijayawada Division also rushed to the spot to restore normalcy in train operations. Traffic on the entire section (both up and down) was restored by 6 am. The train later continued its journey to Tatanagar in Jharkhand, with a coach planned to be attached at Visakhapatnam to accommodate the passengers of S1 coach of the train, the official informed.

A departmental committee has been constituted to enquire into the fire.

The fire also hit 11 train services including the Yasvantapur– Howrah Duronto Express, Tirupati-Puri Express, Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam Godavari Express and the Chennai Central-Puri Express, Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Duronto Express, Secunderabad-Bhubaneswar Visakha Express, Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Garibrath Express, Howrah–Yasvantapur AC Express, Dibrugarh–Kanyakumari Express and Purulia–Villupuram Express.

First Published: Mar 05, 2019 12:58 IST