Passengers panic as smoke halts Navajeevan Express in Mahabubabad

MAHABUBABAD: Smoke emanating from one of the coaches resulted in the stoppage of Navajeevan Express, heading to Chennai from Ahmedabad, at the Mahabubabad railway station on Sunday. The incident caused panic among the passengers who quickly disembarked from the train’s coaches and ran to safety. No casualties were reported from the incident.

After observing thick smoke coming from beneath one of the coaches, the loco pilot promptly stopped the express train at the Mahabubabad station itself. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when the railway’s technical staff assessed the problem and ruled that it was not due to a fire. The smoke was caused by friction on the wheels due to a hardened braking system, they said.

But before the technical snag could be identified, panic set in among the passengers who got down from their compartments and ran away from the train, fearing a fire accident. The incident also had its cascading effect as several other trains running in this route were delayed.