Railways Will Not Allow Passengers To Charge Mobile Phones, Laptops At Night During Travel, Directive Soon | Earth Indian

IRCTC Latest News: Part of a precautionary measure, Indian Railways may soon come up with directives in which it may not allow train passengers to charge their mobile phones, laptops and other electronic devices at night while travelling. According to reports, the Railways said that the points used for charging mobile phones and other electronic devices for will be kept switched off from 11 PM till 5 AM. The decision in this regard has been taken in the wake of a series of train fire incidents.

The development comes as a coach of the Dehradun-bound Shatabdi Express recently caught fire in a suspected case of a short circuit on March 13 and barely six days later, a fire broke out in the engine of a static goods train at the Ranchi station.

The Western Railway has already put things in motion on March 16 by cutting off supply to these charging ports between this period. “It is a Railway Board instruction for all railways. We have started implementing it from March 16,” CPRO of Western Railway, Sumit Thakur, told news agency PTI.

In the meantime, the Railways has also decided to take a slew of initiatives against smoking and carrying inflammable items, which were apparently the cause behind some of the recent fires onboard trains.

The Indian Railways has instructed the zonal railways to initiate an intensive awareness drive of seven days to educate all the stakeholders, including railway users and employees, about precautions to be taken against fire incidents.

The Railways said carrying inflammable objects in trains is a punishable offense under Section 164 of the Railways Act and the offender may get imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of Rs 1,000 or both, and a fine of Rs 500 is applicable under Section 165.

In 2014, the Commissioner of Railway Safety had recommended that charging stations be switched off between 11 PM and 5 AM , soon after a fire incident in the Bangalore-Hazur Sahib Nanded Express. The Railway Board had eventually issued such orders to all rail zones. Many incidents of minor fires, reported onboard long-distance trains, were caused due to overcharging of electronic devices.

By Shivam Urkude || Earth Indian