Title - Charred bogie of TN Express may be shifted to Secunderabad

The South Central Railway (SCR) has requested the Government Railway Police investigating the Tamil Nadu Express fire accident to allow shift of the charred S11 bogie to the coach yard at Secunderabad railway station. At least 34 people were killed in the fire that broke out mysteriously in the Chennai-bound train in the early hours of July 30 at Nellore.Bringing the bogie here would help the railways to examine it from all angles and help in establishing any laxity on the part of engineers and find out whether it was in a proper condition to ferry passengers safely, said official sources.The chemical analysis of samples collected from the coach to ascertain the origin of fire is also to be completed within 10 days. A four-member team from Andhra Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory (APFSL) had visited the spot on two consecutive days and collected samples in 18 polythene covers.The sealed covers were handed over to the investigators who will further send them to APFSL by Monday. “It will take at least 10 days’ time to complete the chemical analysis and establish the cause of fire,” a senior official disclosed.The APFSL team has collected all the articles that could have possibly caught fire in S11 coach for analysis. “We collected the burnt remains of electrical wires, circuits, internal fuses and other equipment from among the ashes inside the compartment. It was a difficult task to gather the material as the interiors were completely gutted,” the official explained.

He said the team has laid more focus on inspecting wires and other electrical gadgets fitted atop the coach as it would give leads into the source of fire.