SunstarTV Bureau: As a precautionary measure, the Indian Railways has decided to ban charging of any electronic accessories including mobile phones, laptops at night from 11 PM to 5 AM during traveling of passengers.
“It is a Railway Board instruction for all railways. We have started implementing it from March 16, “said CRPO of Western Railway, Sumit Thakur.
The initiative has taken after some reported cases of trains engulf fire. However, passengers are advised to keep their electronic devices switched off at night.
According to officials, many incidents of minor fires reported onboard long distance trains which caused due to overcharging of electronic devices.
Notably, on March 13, a coach of the Dehradun-bound Shatabdi Express caught fire in a suspected case of a short circuit and baerely six day later, another fire broke out in the engine of a static goods train at the Ranchi station.
Another case of a short-circuit reported in the Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani, smoke emanating from the Duronto train from Allahabad Junction to Lokmanyatilak terminal station in Mumbai and other minor fires reported from the premises of coach factories, in garbage dumps and in bushes on railway property.
Meanwhile, Indian Railways also decided a slew of initiatives against smoking and carrying inflammable items which may cause behind recent fires onboard trains. However, under Section 164 of the Railways Act, offender may get imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of Rs 1,000 or both, and a fine of Rs 500 is applicable under Section 165.
