28 The Railway Board has asked all its zones to comply with its 2014 order, directing that all mobile phone and laptop charging points in coaches are switched off between 11 PM and 5 AM to ensure fire safety. New Delhi, Oct.
The fire spread throughout the coach and engulfed the adjoining coaches. In June 2014, the Railway Board decided for the first time to switch off electrical socket points in trains on the recommendation of the Commissioner of Railway Safety , following a fire incident in 2013 in an AC 3-tier coach of the Hazur Sahib Nanded–KSR Bengaluru Express in the Bengaluru division of the South Western Railway zone. In November 2023, another fire incident occurred in a sleeper-class coach of the New Delhi–Darbhanga Humsafar Clone Special in the Sarai Bhopat–Etawah section in the Prayagraj Division of North Central Railway around 5.25 pm.
“Further, surprise inspections should be conducted at both the officers’ and supervisors’ levels to ensure strict compliance with these instructions,” it said. “This practice poses potential fire safety risks due to unattended charging devices and also increases the chances of theft of passengers’ mobile phones during night hours,” SECR said.
