The Indian Railways (IR) will now ensure maintenance work of automatic fire and smoke detection systems installed on board its trains through private companies. The IR will also hand over the maintenance of manual fire and smoke detection-cum-suppression systems in AC coaches of Humsafar Express, Shatabdi Express and other trains to private firms, informed officials aware of the plans.
The responsibility of maintenance of the modern smoke and fire detection system in luggage, generator, brake van and AC coaches of Humsafar and Shatabdi Express are being given to a private company through a tender for three years as part of this initiative, they added.
The move follows close on the heels of the fire incident at Madurai railway station in August 2023 that left nine dead and over 20 injured following which many questions had been raised regarding the safety and security systems of the railways. The IR are making various arrangements to deal with such problems, for example, gas cylinders are being replaced with induction stoves and the rule of booking coaches only after taking food from the pantry car has been implemented, officials shared.
Public relations officer (PRO) of North Central Railways (NCR) Prayagraj Division, Amit Kumar Singh said that through this initiative, the latest state-of-the-art systems will be installed and maintained to ensure the security of passengers is kept at the highest level.
{{/usCountry}}Public relations officer (PRO) of North Central Railways (NCR) Prayagraj Division, Amit Kumar Singh said that through this initiative, the latest state-of-the-art systems will be installed and maintained to ensure the security of passengers is kept at the highest level.
{{/usCountry}}The automatic power and smoke detection suppression systems are also being installed in the train’s pantry car, power car and Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches, he added.
In automatic fire and smoke detection systems, water and nitrogen cylinders are connected to the pipe along with a fire extinguisher equipped with sensors and pressure. As per the prescribed standards, as soon as smoke and fire are detected, an alarm rings and a mixture of nitrogen and water reaches the pipes. The spray from the valve covers the fire dousing it and not allowing it to spread.