Fire breaks out in fuel-laden train, rail traffic disrupted

Fifteen wagons of a goods train carrying kerosene caught fire between Jarwal and Saryu railway stations after some bogies derailed in the wee hours this morning, throwing rail traffic out of gear on the Lucknow- Gorakhpur route.

Sixteen wagons of the train derailed and 15 of them caught fire, PRO, Northern Railway, Alok Srivastava said.

Railway employees detached 31 other wagons of the train and fire tenders rushed from Lucknow and Bahraich fought to control the blaze for seven to eight hours, he said.

In the wake of the incident, the route of 11 trains on the down line and 14 on the up line have been changed and three others have been cancelled.

150 metres long rail track on the down line and 50 metres on the up line has been badly damaged due to the fire, Srivastav said. GM of North Eastern Railway B. Ramachandran has ordered an equiry and rail traffic on the route is likely to be restored by the evening.
Senior Railway officials have rushed to the spot, he said, adding that the loss was estimated to be in crores of rupees.