RailEnquiry

A portion of Sonada railway station in Darjeeling hills was destroyed in a fire on Monday morning. Toy train services were also affected.“No causalities were reported. The fire broke out at around 9 a.m. A portion of the station, a phone booth and some stalls were destroyed,” a district police officer told The Hindu over telephone from Darjeeling.Though the cause is yet to be ascertained, it is suspected a short-circuit led to the fire. Investigations are on, the officer added.“Train services were disrupted because of the fire. As stations in the hills are wide open, there were chances of the fire spreading. It took us three hours to bring it under control. Train services resumed later,” said District Magistrate Saumitra Mohan.Railways authorities had to evacuate the station to prevent any causality, he added. According to fire-fighters, five rooms at the station were destroyed in the fire.