Indian Railways board seems to have become strict for the passengers as it has issued new orders keeping in mind the increased number of fire incidents on trains. The Railway Board has announced that it will not allow passengers to use charging sockets between 11 PM to 5 AM. This will restrict users to charge their phones, laptops, battery banks, and other electronic devices. So if you’re planning to travel via train, then make sure you have enough charge on your electronic device. You can also carry a good amount of power banks with you.
No Mobile Charging on Train for Five Hours
According to a Mobile91 report, the senior Railway official of Western Railway suggested that the new rules are already in place from March 16th 2021. Notably, the new rules are for all the railway zones in India. These rules are implemented to avoid fire-related accidents on Indian trains. Moreover, the restriction on overnight charging is not a new rule; it’s just a reiteration of the older one.
Do note that the power of all the charging points will be shut down from the main switchboard of the train at 11 PM, and it will resume at 5 AM. Recently, some minor cases of fire incidents were reported due to overcharging of electronic devices; these rules are meant to avoid such incidents.
Recently a coach of Shatabdi Express travelling to Dehradun caught fire due to a short circuit because of overcharging of a device. Around six days later, a goods train engine faced a fire incident due to similar reasons. It seems that the Indian Railways has also started taking strict actions against smoking and carrying inflammable items inside the trains. It seems that in some cases, the items played a very big role in causing a fire.
Passengers and employees both will be made aware of the new rules. If passengers or employees are caught violating the fire norms or carrying any restricted items, then they have to pay the fine. In some cases, the violator can even get imprisonment of three years. So next time if you board a train, make sure you don’t have any restricted item; otherwise, you can find yourself behind bars.
