Ratlam/Kota, 17 May

A fire broke out in an air-conditioned coach of a Rajdhani Express heading from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam district on Sunday morning, railway officials said.

The coach, carrying as many as 68 passengers, was evacuated within 15 minutes, and there were no casualties, they said, adding the schedules of several other trains were affected due to the incident.

The blaze erupted at 5.15am in the B-1 coach of the Thiruvananthapuram-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express (train no. 12431), West Central Railway's Chief Public Relation Officer Harshit Shrivastava told PTI over the phone.

The train had departed from Ratlam Junction at around 3.45am.

The incident occurred between Vikramgarh Alot and Lunirichha stations under the Kota division of the railways, PRO Mukesh Kumar of the Ratlam division said.

"All the passengers were deboarded from the affected coach in 15 minutes. The fire also damaged the second luggage-cum-guard van (SLR) attached behind the B-1 coach," Shrivastava said.

Railway authorities immediately switched off the overhead electric supply, and the fire was later doused.

The affected guard van and the coach were detached from the rake, and the train headed for its onward journey at around 9.45am, Shrivastava said.

The train is likely to reach Kota station in Rajasthan around 11 am (as against its scheduled time of 8.45 am). An additional coach will be attached there to restore full capacity, as per the officials.

Kota railway PRO Ravindra Lakhara said all passengers were safely deboarded and none sustained injuries. Arrangements were made to accommodate the passengers in other coaches for their onward journey up to Kota, he added.

The incident disrupted rail traffic on the Delhi-Mumbai route, affecting the schedules of five to six trains. Some trains were halted at different stations following the incident, officials said.

Railway authorities also issued helpline numbers for passengers seeking information about train movements.

Ratlam Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Ajay Kumar Kalara was monitoring the situation. A relief train and a tower wagon were sent for rescue and restoration work, the officials said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.