Alert passengers who noticed the fire on board the Yesvantpur-Tatanagar Express managed to prevent a major mishap by immediately bringing the train to a halt by pulling the chain, railway officials said on Tuesday.
While the pantry car was reduced to ashes, the adjoining S1 coach was partially burnt. Passengers in the S1 coach managed to alight from the train the moment it came to a halt after the pulling of the chain. Flames engulfed the pantry car in the early hours of Tuesday. A few passengers who noticed the fire pulled the chain and alert the Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs) who in turn alerted the Fire Department.
Soon after the train came to a halt, a fire tender arrived from Gollaprolu and doused the fire in an hour-long exercise.
The exact cause of the fire outbreak is yet to be ascertained.