Sparks and fire after ‘brake binding’ trigger panic on Kolhapur-Mumbai Mahalaxmi Express

Kolhapur: Sparks and a minor fire under an AC coach of Kolhapur-Mumbai Mahalaxmi Express created panic among passengers of Kolhapur-Mumbai Mahalaxmi Express around 9PM on Thursday.
Sheel Bhadra Gautam, the acting public relations officer of Pune rail division, told TOI that the incident occurred due to brake binding. Whenever brake blocks grip the wheel with excessive braking force, it is termed as brake binding which generally leads to smoke and at times fire and sparks too, he said.
"The incident is not a serious one. The grease on the wheels burnt due to brake binding, causing fire. The passengers of one AC compartment panicked and an alarm chain pulling happened. However, as per our information, no passenger got out of the train. The train got stranded for around 35 minutes during which fire extinguishers were used and all other steps were taken. The train reached Mumbai 15 minutes late," Gautam said.
Railway Protection Force officials, however, claimed that one of their men stopped the train on Panchaganga river bridge by pulling the chain. The news of the fire triggered panic among passengers. The minor fire was extinguished, and the AC coach removed. Later, the train departed for Mumbai.
Rajesh Ghorpade, who was in the rear reserved sleeper compartment, said he spotted the fire in the air-conditioned compartment. He along with others brought around 40 passengers travelling in the affected coach to safety by taking them to the rear coach.
"I was in the sleeper coach just behind the AC coach when I spotted the sparks as soon as the train left Valivade Railway Station. Motorists passing by the road adjacent to the railway line also alerted us about the fire," he said.
"I immediately informed other passengers, and chaos erupted immediately. The railway police personnel pulled the chain to stop the train and informed the driver. We took the panicked passengers to our coach through the internal passage," added Ghorpade.
Railway employees and security personnel doused the fire using fire extinguishers.
In Jan this year, 13 people were killed in Maharashtra's Jalgaonafter they jumped out of a train following rumours about a fire only to be crushed under another incoming train.
(Additional reporting by Joy Sengupta in Pune)