Second smoke incident at East Coast Express in a week
HYDERABAD : Smoke was detected coming out of the East Coast Express in Mahabubabad district on Monday. While it was the second such incident in the span of a week, officials dismissed it as a ‘regular issue’ and said that it was addressed in 10 minutes.
Minutes after leaving the Nekkonda station in Mahabubabad district, the guard saw smoke emanating from the coaches and alerted the pilot, prompting the latter to stop the train at the outer signal of Gundrapally station, situated 3 km from the Nekkonda station. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the smoke was emanating from the generator coach of the train. Subsequently, the assistant driver and a guard rushed to address the issue.
They identified that the brakes in that particular bogie had become jammed, and they proceeded to rectify the problem, ensuring that the brakes were in perfect working order. With the issue resolved, the train continued its journey from Gundrapally station.
However, frightened passengers within the compartments reacted by jumping off the train and taking to the tracks in an attempt to distance themselves from the train. The locomotive pilots reported the incident to the nearest station master, Umeshkumar Pande of Nekkonda railway station, who took immediate action to address the situation.
Approximately 10 minutes later, passengers onboard the train remained anxious about boarding the train. On September 6, smoke was found emanating from the wheels of the Hyderabad-Shalimar East Coast Express near Gundrathimadugu in Mahabubabad district. At that time, the train halted for about 30 minutes and after repairs, was on its way to West Bengal.
According to SCR officials, the incident involving the East Coast Express was attributed to ‘brake binding,’ a situation where the brakes become jammed against the wheels, resulting in friction that can generate smoke and, in extreme cases, even lead to fires. However, this issue was resolved within 10 minutes and the train has arrived safely in Hyderabad, a railway official said.
