Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express catches fire, passengers safe

Zee Media Bureau/Ajith Vijay Kumar

Guwahati: Passengers on board the Rajdhani Express from Dibrugarh to New Delhi had a narrow escape after the pantry car of the train caught fire early on Tuesday in Morigaon district of Assam. The pantry car caught fire when the train was passing through Dharamtul station at around 4 am. Dharamtul is around 70 kilometres from Guwahati. Following the fire, the train was brought to a halt at Dharamtul. A spokesman of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said that no one was injured but the coach was completely gutted in the fire. There were at least 15 people, including the pantry car staff, in the coach. "Fire brigade rushed to the area and later doused the fire with help from police and local people. The details of the incident are awaited but it is suspected that some kind of short circuit led to the incident," the NFR spokesman said. Train number 12435 Dibrugarh Town-New Delhi left Dibrugarh at 8.30 pm yesterday night and was scheduled to arrive at Guwahati today morning at 6.40 am. The train has now proceeded on its onward journey. Souvik Sarkar, a passenger who is to board the said train from New Jalpaiguri told zeenews.com that the train’s timings have been revised and it will reach Jalpaiguri after 4 pm as against its scheduled time of 12.05 pm.