Shruti Suman
Once again, the Vande Bharat Express is making headlines. However, this time it’s not for its high-speed travel, encounters with stones or cattle, or collisions. Instead, the news centers around a passenger who boarded the train without a valid ticket and couldn’t resist the urge to smoke a cigarette during the journey.
The train was en route from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh to Secunderabad, with more than eight hours of travel left after crossing Gudur. The ticketless passenger had managed to sneak onto the train and had taken refuge in the train’s restroom. He might have completed his journey for free, but his desire for a cigarette changed the course of events.
Unaware that fire alarms were installed in the flagship train’s restrooms, the passenger lit a cigarette. This immediately triggered the alarms, setting off an automatic fire extinguisher that released aerosol spray throughout the compartment. Chaos ensued as panicked passengers used the emergency phone to alert the train guard. The train was brought to a stop near Manubulu station.
Railway Police acted swiftly, using a fire extinguisher to break the window of the restroom. Inside, they discovered the passenger who, through his smoking, had inadvertently caused the train to halt and prompted a full-fledged rescue operation. The unauthorized smoker was apprehended at Nellore for further action, and the train resumed its journey.
Videos captured the scene inside the coach, showing aerosol particles and a broken window resulting from the passengers’ panic.
An official from the Vijayawada Division of the South Central Railway (SCR) Zone stated, “An individual without authorization boarded the train in Tirupati and locked himself in the restroom of coach C-13. He proceeded to smoke inside the restroom, triggering the automatic activation of an aerosol fire extinguisher within the restroom.”
NI Bureau
