Railways Announces Drive Against Smoking, Carrying Inflammable Items

Instructions have also been given to zonal railway to conduct intensive drives against smoking in trains and railway premises

The Railways announced on Tuesday a slew of initiatives against smoking and carrying inflammable items, which were apparently the cause behind some of the recent fires on board 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 offence under Section 164 of the Railways Act and the offender may get an imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of Rs 1,000 or both, and a fine of Rs 500 is applicable under Section 165. The directives come after a slew of fire-related incidents were reported not only from on board trains, but also at rail premises. These include the blaze in the Delhi-Dehradun Shatabdi Express, where an initial probe found a burning cigarette thrown into a toilet dustbin to be the cause of fire.