Prerna Express catches fire, no casualty reported

The 1453 down Prerna Express caught fire at Ahmedabad railway station at 12.45 pm on Thursday.

Three berths of the S-1 coach were badly damaged in the fire, which is reported to have started from the lower berth and engulfed the middle and the upper berths.

No casualty has been reported as the train arrived the railway station early in the morning at 4.20 am from Nagpur and was empty.

Arvind Khare, divisional railway manager for Western Railway in Ahmedabad, said, "We have formed a four-member committee comprising officers from all our departments to investigate the matter."

The accident did not had any affect on the running of the train and it departed at its scheduled time at around 4 pm." The fire was noticed by railway officials at around 1 pm and the fire was brought under control by 1.30 pm.

S M Pathak, deputy superintendent of police, Ahmedabad, said, "No casualty has been reported as the coach was empty and the reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained."

The divisional railway manager at Ahmedabad has ordered a departmental enquiry into the matter.

The reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained. M M Pathak, forensic science expert, said, "We have send the samples for test at our laboratory in Gandhinagar and will be able to say anything once the test results are out."