Indian Railways has decided that it will not allow passengers to charge their mobile phones and other electronic devices at night while travelling as a precautionary measure. This comes after the incidents of fire were reported in some trains. According to senior railway officials, the decision to stop the facility of charging mobile in trains at night is being a precautionary measure.
A senior railway official claimed that the points used for charging mobile phones and other electronic devices will be kept switched off from 11 pm till 5 am. “It is a Railway Board instruction for all railways. We have started implementing it from March 16,” CPRO of Western Railway, Sumit Thakur, said. Southern Railway CPRO B Guganesan said that these instructions are not new, but a reiteration of earlier orders of the Railway Board. “In view of the recent incidents of fire, we have done the needful. It is a precautionary measure and even earlier the Railway Board had issued such orders. The power from the main switchboard for these points will be switched off from 11 pm to 5 am,” Guganesan said.
In a report on the fires, officials suggested that the points used for charging mobile phones and other electronic devices should be switched off at night. Many incidents of minor fires, reported onboard long-distance trains, were caused due to overcharging of electronic devices, officials said.
Meanwhile, Indian Railways also decided a slew of initiatives against smoking and carrying inflammable items, which were apparently the cause behind some of the recent fires onboard trains. The national transporter has instructed 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. 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 ₹1,000 or both, and a fine of ₹500 is applicable under Section 165.
