Travelling By Train Overnight? Make Sure Your Phone Is Fully Charged As Railways Won't Allow It

Do you travel very often by a train overnight? If yes, there's news that might change the way you travel.

Indian Railways will soon come with directives in which it may not allow passengers to charge their mobile at night while travelling. The Indian Railways has restricted the use of charging points at night to prevent fire accidents. The decision was taken following the Delhi-Dehradun Shatabdi Express that caught fire on March 13. The fire started in a coach and spread to seven other coaches.

BCCL

Why the decision?

According to senior railway officials, the decision to stop the facility of charging mobile in trains at night is being a precautionary measure. In a report, a senior railway official claimed that the points used for charging mobile phones and other electronic devices for will be kept switched off from 11 pm till 5 am. "Keeping in mind the safety of passengers, the railways has decided to keep the charging points in trains switched off from 11 pm to 5 am," said Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer of Western Railway.

Reuters // representative image

Several incidents of fire were reported in long-distance trains due to overheating of laptops and mobile phones that were being charged at night. Thakur said that this directive is being implemented in other railway zones as well.

How will Railways ensure implementation?

Barely six days after Dehradun-bound Shatabdi Express caught fire, another fire broke out in the engine of a static goods train at the Ranchi station. "Safety remains the focus area of Railway operations and no one should let the guard down on that front. A thorough review and rechecking of all safety measures in the running of trains needs to be taken up by all concerned," the minister said at a review meeting on "safety measures", according to a statement issued by the railway ministry.

Erail

What are the other mesaures?

Meanwhile, Indian Railways also decided a slew of initiatives against smoking and carrying inflammable items, which were apparently the cause behind some of the recent fires onboard trains. It is planning to propose an increase in punishment for such offences. Smokers inside the trains are punished under Section 167 of the Railways Act. Passengers found smoking is liable to a fine of up to Rs 100.

The national transporter has instructed zonal railways to initiate an intensive awareness drive of seven days to educate all the stakeholders, including railway users and employees, about precautions to be taken against fire incidents.

PTI

A Railways official said that the national carrier has alerted employees, including AC mechanics to keep charging points off during the night. Authorities have also decided to conduct surprise checks and take strict action against staff if lapses are found, as mentioned by an official to the daily.