No more charging electronic devices on train at night, say Indian Railways

Passengers will not be allowed to charge their electronic devices onboard trains at night as a precautionary measure against the spread of fire, senior officials of the Indian Railways said on Tuesday, PTI reported. The Western Railways has started implementing this from March 16 by cutting off supply to these charging ports between 11 pm and 5 am. 

“In view of the recent incidents of fire, we have done the needful. It is a precautionary measure and even earlier the Railway Board had issued such orders. The power from the main switchboard for these points will be switched off from 11 pm to 5 am,” Southern Railway CPRO B Guganesan told PTI.

This comes after recent incidents of fire reported in some trains. Recently a coach of the Dehradun-bound Shatabdi Express caught fire in a suspected case of a short circuit on March 13 and a week later, a fire broke out in the engine of a static goods train at the Ranchi station.

The Railways has also announced a slew of initiatives against smoking and carrying inflammable items, which were apparently also the cause behind some of the recent fires onboard trains.

The national transporter has instructed zonal railways to initiate an intensive awareness drive of seven days to educate all the stakeholders, including railway users and employees, about precautions to be taken against fire incidents.