A fire broke out in one of the AC compartments of the Thiruvananthapuram-bound Jan Shatabdi Express while it was entering Ernakulam Junction railway station.
Officials said the fire was noticed in coach C-2 when the train came to a near-halt at the South station at 5.30 p.m. Smoke started billowing out of the coach.
There was commotion with passengers trying to deboard. Action by AC attendant, Uma Maheswaran, who switched off electrical systems despite sustaining burn injuries on his hand, averted a disaster.
Fire extinguishers were brought in and flames extinguished.
Preliminary investigation pointed to a short circuit in one of the main panels of the coach as the cause for the fire.
The passengers were accommodated in another coach and the train resumed operations half an hour behind schedule.
