Minor fire on Chennai-Tirupati Sapthagiri Express, doused

Sources from Southern Railway said when the train crossed Avadi station, the engine driver noticed smoke emanating from the engine. When he checked, he found a minor fire, stopped the train immediately and alerted the railway officials. Following this, fire and rescue officers went to the spot and put out the fire. Soon after the train came to a halt, many passengers alighted from the compartments.

The train was carrying over 170 passengers in AC compartment while over 600 people were in the reserved coaches and about 400 in the unreserved coaches.

Though the fire was doused, the train was remained was stationed there more than one and a half hours, which delayed a few other trains. The Railway and police officials rushed to the spot and inspected the engine thoroughly. Preliminary investigations revealed the fire was caused due to overheating in the engine.

Sources further said that some trains were re-routed through the suburban train tracks. More than 20 trains were delayed due tothe incident.