West Bengal: Fire near Baranagar station tracks disrupts train services

KOLKATA: A major fire broke out beside the Up CCR tracks (outside railway jurisdiction) at Baranagar station here in Sealdah-Dankuni section of Eastern Railway (ER) on Tuesday afternoon, forcing authorities to stop services. Power in the overhead wires were switched off immediately to prevent the fire from spreading and causing any damage to railway property or passengers.
Around 12.25 pm, the fire started in a cluster of shanties next to a highrise on Belgharia Expressway just next to the Baranagar station. As soon as railway authorities came to know of the fire, they switched off power to the overhead wires at 12.27 pm. Soon, fire tenders arrived from Cossipore and fire fighting operations started. The blaze was finally brought under control at 1.03 pm. After ascertaining that there was no further risk, power to the overhead wires were switched on at 1.07 pm and normal services resumed three minutes later.
"This is a precautionary measure we have to take to prevent a major electrical fire that may spread to other sections as well through the charged wires. Due to the fire, six EMU locals and two long distance trains lost punctuality," an ER spokesperson said.