There are about 200 AC coaches in Pune division. There are about 200 AC coaches in Pune division. Railway officials on Monday said trains running in the Pune division of Central Railway (CR) were safe, saying that mechanised inspection of electrical systems on board the trains ruled out to a great extent the possibility of a fire similar to the one that broke out in the Andhra Pradesh AC Superfast Express. The assurance came after some coaches of the Andhra Pradesh AC Superfast Express, plying between Visakhapatnam and Hazrat Nizamuddin in New Delhi, caught fire at Birlanagar near Gwalior at around 11.50 am. The train was heading towards New Delhi. Video footage showed fire engulfing the doors and adjacent windows of B5 and B6 coaches. Although no one was injured, an inquiry is on. Officials said there were in all 61 rakes (group of coaches required for a train service) which are used to operate 29 long-distance and short-distance trains in the Pune division. Primary maintenance of all coaches is done at railway workshops in Ghorpadi, Pune, Miraj and Kolhapur. The officials said the Pune division used advanced systems to inspect electrically-run equipment, systems and assemblies, helping detect malfunctions, if any, at an early stage. They said state-of-the-art equipment to inspect coaches was necessary as those responsible for maintenance of electrical systems in coaches must remain extra vigilant and make all efforts to prevent train fires as dousing such blazes in a moving train was not easy. “There could be any number of reasons for a fire — it could be an act of sabotage, it could be the result of passengers carrying inflammable material, a spark in the electrical circuit or someone throwing a lit cigarette or bidi on combustible material. But our electrical and coach maintenance team has to reduce the chances of a fire due to malfunctioning systems,” said an official. Officials said the possibility of a fire due to internal fractures is “very very less” on trains operating from Pune and maintained by the Pune division. “We use very advanced mechanised systems for inspections, which leaves very little to be desired. Even a smallest malfunction that can create problems in future is located and fixed. This safeguards the circuits and electrical equipment,” said railway spokesperson Manoj Jhawar. Inspections of coaches, electronic equipment, power circuits, electrical wires and so on follow a fixed schedule and exhaustive checklists. “There are components that are to be inspected daily, some after every trip, some once a week and others monthly. Nothing is left to chance,” said the official. Air-conditioned coaches need more care and maintenance because of high power flow in them. They also have comparatively greater presence of combustible material such as bedrolls. “In the Pune division there are about 200 AC coaches and it’s a task in itself to handle as they need frequent and minute inspections,” said an official. For all the latest Pune News, download Indian Express App

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