A fire broke out in a general coach of the Jaynagar-Udhna Express at Madhubani railway station in Bihar on Thursday, 28 May, completely gutting the compartment, according to railway officials. No passengers or staff were injured, as the train had been stationed for maintenance for the past two days.

How the Fire Broke Out

The affected coach was parked on Platform No. 3 for scheduled maintenance work when thick black smoke and flames suddenly began emerging from it. The blaze spread rapidly through the general compartment before bystanders could intervene. People present at the station immediately alerted the Station Master upon noticing the fire.

Fire brigade teams were rushed to the spot, but a substantial portion of the coach had already been damaged by the time they arrived. After extensive firefighting efforts, the blaze was brought under control and prevented from spreading to adjacent coaches.

DRM Rushes to Spot, Inquiry Ordered

Jyoti Prakash Mishra, the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of the Samastipur Railway Division, travelled to Madhubani on a special train to personally inspect the site. During the visit, he reviewed the extent of the damage and sought detailed reports from railway officials on the circumstances leading to the fire.

Acknowledging the seriousness of the incident, Mishra announced the formation of a high-level inquiry committee to determine the exact cause and assess any lapses in safety protocols. Railway authorities have preliminarily attributed the fire to a short circuit, though the final cause will be confirmed only after the inquiry report is submitted.

A Pattern of Coach Fires This Month

This is the second such incident on the same railway network within ten days. On 18 May, a fire broke out in a general coach of the Sasaram-Patna Fast Passenger train (53212) while it was stationed at Platform No. 6 ahead of its scheduled 6:45 am departure. That fire was also reportedly triggered by a short circuit, in the fifth coach from the engine.

The recurrence raises questions about the adequacy of routine fire-safety inspections on coaches undergoing maintenance at station platforms — a concern that the inquiry committee will likely be expected to address.

Impact and Immediate Response

The incident briefly triggered panic among passengers and staff present at the station premises. Fortunately, the absence of passengers aboard the stationary coach averted what could have been a far more serious tragedy. The Samastipur Division has been put on heightened alert as authorities await the inquiry findings.

With the high-level committee now in place, the focus shifts to whether the preliminary short-circuit theory holds and whether systemic safety gaps in coach maintenance procedures need to be addressed across the division.