Passengers on the Vande Bharat Express bound for Tirunelveli from Chennai experienced a brief moment of panic after smoke was detected in one of the AC coaches on Tuesday morning.
According to reports, the smoke emanated from coach C4 of the train shortly after it departed from Chennai Egmore. The incident occurred when the train was near Chengalpattu station. Several passengers noticed the smoke and immediately alerted the train staff, leading to a sense of alarm and confusion on board.
Railway officials responded quickly by halting the train at Chengalpattu. Technical staff conducted an inspection and identified a malfunction in the air-conditioning system of the coach as the likely cause of the smoke. Fortunately, there was no fire or injury reported, and the situation was brought under control promptly.
Passengers were reassured and the train resumed its journey after safety checks were completed. Railway authorities stated that a detailed technical inspection would be conducted to prevent such incidents in the future and ensure the safety of passengers.
The Southern Railway has ordered an internal probe into the incident and emphasized that passenger safety remains their top priority.