Godhra lesson: Rlys roll out fire-resistant bogies

Playing safe: Foam seats; 4 emergency exits per coach

Having burnt its fingers with the fire in the Sabarmati Express at Godhra in February 2002, the Indian Railways is now ensuring that its all new coaches have four emergency exits as well as a slew of upgraded fire-retardant features, making them safer than ever before.

The 8,000-odd coaches rolled out of various factories post-Godhra have PU foam stuffed inside the seats instead of latex. The foam is first covered with a fire-barrier made out of glasswool and eventually by rexine.

A far more fire-retardant Compreg compressed plywood has replaced plywood for flooring and partitions.

Carpets in Ist Class AC coaches are now made of fire-retardant material. Fibre Reinforced Plastics FRPs, which let out less toxic fumes when burnt, are being used for making roof-sheets, panellings and toilet interiors.

A tumescent paint 8212; which swells when heated and blocks the passage 8212; is being used between vestibules to prevent the flames from spreading from one coach to another.

8216;8216;The materials used inside the coaches are being upgraded continuously. Instead of the British and French specifications being followed earlier, we now plan to achieve the European Standard called prEN 45545,8217;8217; said Yash Pal Gupta, general manager at Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala.

8216;8216;Earlier, flame retardant norms were specified only as far as coach interior furnishing materials were concerned. Now, we are in the process of upgrading specifications to UIC International Union of Railways norms by taking into account factors like spread of flames, deterioration of visibility due to smoke, limiting oxygen index and toxicity of gases produced after burning,8217;8217; said a senior official at Railway Ministry8217;s Research Design and Standards Organisation RDSO in Lucknow. RDSO, in it8217;s golden jubilee year, is engaged in pioneering research on fire-retardant in railway coaches.

Story continues below this ad

8216;8216;The purpose behind specifying these properties is to ensure that the furnishing materials don8217;t catch fire when exposed to a flame and even if they do, the fire doesn8217;t spread quickly. Another focus area is to ensure that the smoke and gases produced by burning do not impair the passengers8217; vision and do not immobilise them,8217;8217; the official said.

RDSO has come out with detailed ungraded specifications for fire-retardant curtain cloth, upholstery cloth, compreg floor board, pre-laminated shaded compreg sheets, PU Foam, PVC floor and rexine. The RDSO is also likely to get a fire-testing laboratory for further research.

Indian Railways have also signed an MoU with Societe Nationale des Cheminsde Fer SNCF, French National Railways for extending technical cooperation to improve the fire-retardant of Indian coaches. As part of this, an SNCF delegation visited RCF Kapurthala in February 2005.

Ministry sources said a proposal to install smoke detectors and fire-alarms in coaches is also being considered.

Not a burning issue

Story continues below this ad

According to the Ministry of Railways, only two per cent accidents are caused by fire, resulting in only two per cent of the total fatalities on Indian Railways. Between 1999-2000 to 2003-04 a substantial 44.59 per cent fire accidents were attributed to the negligence of railway staff, another 27.03 per cent to the failure of people other than railway staff, 10.81 per cent due to equipment failures and 6.76 per cent due to sabotage. Causes for 10.71 per cent fire incidents could not be established. ENS