Days after a fire broke out in the Bhopal-Delhi Vande Bharat train, Railway Board Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti said that the semi-high-speed trains have “very good” fire safety arrangements.
“There are no concerns regarding the safety of passengers in the Vande Bharat trains. There are also very good arrangements for fire prevention in these trains,” Lahoti told reports in Indore on Sunday.
Vande Bharat fire
The Bhopal-Delhi Vande Bharat fire was confined to the battery box. Due to good safety arrangements, the fire was put out before it could spread to other areas. The incident occurred on July 17. No one was reported to be injured in the incident.
The incident happened at around 8 am at Kurwai Kethora station in Madhya Pradesh.
Low occupancy in Vande Bharat trains
On being asked about reported low occupancy in the Indore-Bhopal Vande Bharat train, Lahoti said the matter was being reviewed and a solution will be found.
Lahoti was in Indore to attend a meeting convened to review the rail projects in and around Indore.
June data sourced by the PTI earlier showed that the Bhopal-Indore Vande Bharat train recorded just 29% occupancy while the return journey saw 21% occupancy.
The Indian Railways is reportedly reviewing the fares of some short-distance Vande Bharat trains which are seeing a low occupancy to reduce prices, making them more viable for travellers.
(With Inputs from PTI)