Smoke billowing out of the guard’s cabin on a Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) train at Tiruvanmiyur station created panic among commuters on Monday morning.
No one was injured. The incident, however, disrupted train services for around 45 minutes on both directions of Chennai Beach-Velachery line, officials said.
A ‘waste oil’ cloth kept in the brake section of the engine’s cabin caught fire due to friction. Stating that this was an isolated incident, officials categorically denied there was any lapse in safety measures.
The Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai tweeted around 9.45 a.m. that the Beach-Velachery services resumed after a 47-minute disruption, from 6.25 a.m. to 7.12 a.m. due to the smoke from train no. 41009 near the wheels.
The staff at Velachery railway station said services were completely restored around 11 a.m.
“Rake attended and put back in service,” the tweet said. It expressed regret over the inconvenience caused to commuters.
Commuters said the Southern Railway should pay greater attention to electrical and engineering maintenance of MRTS rakes.
In October last year, a major fire gutted a compartment on a train as it reached Perungudi station.
According to him, the lack of proper administrative control over the Velachery loco shed by EMU Tambaram loco shed was a reason for improper maintenance of coaches.
He also said that said certain category of electrical multiple unit (EMU) cabins were affixed with stickers to indicate that staff need to be extra cautious while taking care of them.
