Mighty scare for Pragati Express passengers

The train had come to a halt just before the Lonavla station, prompting railway officials to rush over to inspect the ‘fire’, as commuters dubbed it

The travellers onboard Pragati Express had a mighty scare with smoke billowing from the C1 coach of the Mumbai-bound train on Saturday. The incident came to light around 9 am between Malavli and Kamshet, when alert passengers pulled the chain, bringing the train to a halt.

Smoke under the carriage for it is caused by friction when brakes are applied hard, railway officials said, (Representative image)

The train had come to a halt just before the Lonavla station, prompting railway officials to rush over to inspect the ‘fire’, as commuters dubbed it. The officials had the smoke under control in minutes, and the train arrived at Lonavala station. The train chugged away toward its destination after being checked by the station’s technical team.

Commenting on the issue, Central Railways Public Relations Officer (PRO) suggested there is nothing to panic about this smoke under the carriage for it is caused by friction when brakes are applied hard.

“This often happens in the ghat section and it is a normal occurrence in the new Link Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches. The LHB coaches use advanced pneumatic disc brake system for efficient braking at higher speeds,” the officer, who requested anonymity, said.

The LHB type of coaches were introduced after the Railways found the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) design coaches were not able to attain higher speeds due to the inherent design limitations of these coaches. The new LHB coaches are high-capacity carry coaches, have low corrosion due to extensive usage of Stainless Steel and better design and manufacturing techniques and low maintenance.

However, these coaches have a disadvantage. According to retired railway technical personnel who requested anonymity, “Though LHB coaches have aesthetically superior interiors manufactured with German technology and design to ensure maximum safety and comfort to the passengers, the wheel shelling, which is made of fibre, is a cause for concern.”

“Some of the causes of wheel shelling have been identified, such as non-optimal dump valve choke sizes and obstructions in air-brake piping between dump valves and brake cylinders. These should be monitored on a regular basis to see if such issues occur more than once in the same coach,” he said.