Two empty monorail coaches gutted, services suspended

“However, by that time, a fleet of six fire extinguisher engines reached the spot where the coaches caught fire. It took one hour to douse the fire,” he said.

Meanwhile, all monorail services have been suspended and MMRDA has ordered an enquiry. The MMRDA has appointed an independent committee to look into the incident. “It will be headed by P S Baghel, Rtd. Commissioner of Railway Safety, Western Circle,” said Kawathkar.

“The Metropolitan Commissioner has ordered a full check-up of all the monorail trains and an enquiry to find out as to how a fire resistant Monorail train caught fire. The services will be resumed after the tracks are cleared,” added Kawathkar.

The incident raised several safety concerns with regard to the monorail. “Fortunately, the train was at a station during the time of the fire and it was empty. If the train was midway and had passengers in it, it would have been fatal,” said an official working on the project. Meanwhile, the burning of the two coaches leaves the MMRDA with only three functioning rakes. Of the 10 rakes, only four were working in the first phase. “We will have to take stock of the situation. But we should be able to continue operations with the three rakes,” said Sanjay Khandare, Additional Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA.

“We are investigating the cause of the fire. However, following the investigation, we will also submit our recommendations to avoid such incidents in the future. Because the fire broke out early on Thursday morning, luckily there was no casualty,” said Prabhat Rahangdale, chief fire officer, Mumbai Fire Brigade.