Title - Southern Railway orders probe after AC coach catches fire

CHENNAI: Southern Railway has ordered an investigation into the fire accident inside carriage and wagon works at Perambur, where an AC coach under maintenance was destroyed by fire. The coach was used in Chennai-Coimbatore Duronto Express and was at the workshop for periodic overhaul.

"An investigation has been ordered into the incident," said a senior official of Southern Railway. Sources at the workshop said all mechanical work on the coach was complete and it was shifted to another shop for electrical work when it caught fire. Nobody was injured since it happened at night.

The AC coaches are often over-used during travel in some trains. As the coaches cannot be taken out of service for a long maintenance, railway technicians do stop-gap maintenance till its periodic overhaul.

This is the second time in Chennai that an air conditioned coach was damaged by fire. In an accident in 2009, smoke came out of an AC coach of Chennai-Nagercoil Express which was ready for departure on platform number 3 at Central railway station. Railway officials issued circulars to check AC components thoroughly before clearing a train for operation.