A coach of the Sasaram-Patna passenger train caught fire at Sasaram railway station, with no casualties reported. The incident came a day after a Rajdhani Express fire near Ratlam, raising fresh concerns over railway safety.
A major fire broke out in a coach of the Sasaram-Patna passenger train at Sasaram railway station in Bihar’s Rohtas district on Monday, May 18, 2026. The train was standing at the platform when the fire was reported, prompting fire brigade teams and railway officials to rush to the spot. Firefighting operations were launched immediately to bring the blaze under control and prevent it from spreading to nearby coaches. Officials confirmed that no passenger casualty was reported in the incident. Railway Protection Force Inspector Sanjeev Kumar said the fire broke out in one coach while the train was stationed at Sasaram railway station and that there was no report of any passenger being harmed. Railway and fire service officials remained at the site to assess the damage and investigate the cause of the fire.
Second Train Fire In Two Days
The Bihar train fire has drawn wider attention because it came just a day after another major fire incident involving the Thiruvananthapuram-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district on Sunday. In that incident, the fire broke out around 5:15 am in the B-1 coach between Vikramgarh Alot and Lunirichha stations under the Kota railway division. The affected coach had 68 passengers, all of whom were evacuated safely within minutes. The luggage-cum-guard van attached behind the coach was also damaged in the blaze. Though no casualties were reported, railway traffic on the busy Mumbai-Delhi route was badly affected after overhead electrical equipment was damaged. Train movement was restored after more than seven hours, while an inquiry into the incident continued.
Railway Safety Back In Focus
Back-to-back train fire incidents have raised fresh questions about coach maintenance, electrical safety checks and emergency preparedness across Indian Railways. Even though passengers escaped safely in both cases, the incidents show how quickly a fire can create danger inside a train or at a crowded railway station. The Sasaram incident is especially serious because the train was stationary at the platform, where passengers, railway staff and bystanders could have been exposed to smoke and panic. Authorities are expected to examine whether the fire was caused by an electrical fault, technical failure or another factor. The Rajdhani Express fire is already being investigated by a high-level committee consisting of senior railway officials, including representatives from West Central Railway, Integral Coach Factory Chennai and the Research Designs and Standards Organisation.
