Madhya Pradesh witnessed a significant incident as the Bhopal-Delhi Vande Bharat Express caught fire. Fortunately, no casualties were reported. The fire broke out in coach C-14 before Bina, allegedly caused by the ignition of the battery box, according to a passenger on board.
The train, numbered 20171 Bhopal – Hazrat Nizamuddin Vande Bharat Express, departed on Monday at 5:40 am. The fire incident occurred near Kurwai Kethora, before reaching Bina railway station. The affected coach, C-14, was carrying 36 passengers who were safely evacuated in Kurwai Kethora around 7:10 am. Firefighters promptly arrived at the scene.
Due to the presence of VIPs onboard, the entire train was evacuated. Among the passengers were Congress leader Ajay Singh, IAS Avinash Lavania, and other notable individuals. The train was halted as soon as the guard noticed smoke rising, as informed by DRM Bhopal Saurabh Bandopadhyay.
The Vande Bharat Express in Madhya Pradesh, known as the Rani Kamlapati–Nizamuddin–Rani Kamlapati train, was inaugurated four months ago on April 1 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the first official run to Agra taking place on April 2. The Nizamuddin-Rani Kamalapati route was commenced on April 3.
In April 2023, Madhya Pradesh received three Vande Bharat Express trains, including Nizamuddin-Rani Kamlapati as the first one. The second and third trains were Vande Bharat Bhopal-Indore-Bhopal and Rani Kamlapati-Jabalpur-Rani Kamlapati. Both these trains were flagged off by Narendra Modi on June 27.