Local train wheel catches fire near Mumbai; passengers jump out of coach

PTI, Feb 16, 2023, 1:54 PM IST

Image for representation

The wheel of a running local train caught fire near Asangaon station in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Thursday morning, with officials saying it happened due to ”brake binding” and no passenger was injured.

A video of the incident, which took place about 70 km away from Mumbai, went viral on social media wherein a passenger was seen jumping out of the train which had stopped.

Railway sources said as it was the morning peak hour, the train was crowded. After noticing the burning wheel, passengers jumped out of the coach as soon as the train stopped, they said.

A Central Railway (CR) spokesperson said the incident occurred at 8.55 am at Asangaon station, located 70 km from Mumbai, when the local train was heading to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (in south Mumbai) from Kasara in Thane.

The official said no passenger was injured in the incident which took place due to ”brake binding”, in which the brakes get jammed with wheels and friction between the two leads to smoke or even fire some times.

The local train was detained at Asangaon station home signal from 8.55 am to 9.07 am due to ”brake binding”, the spokesperson said. The railway staff concerned attended to it and the rake was later running normally, the official said, adding a detailed investigation will be conducted after the rake goes to car shed. The Central Railway operates nearly 1,800 suburban services daily on its four corridors, including the main line connecting areas of Thane and Raigad districts with Mumbai. Around 40 lakh passengers travel on Central Railway suburban locals every day.