Visakhapatnam: The fire, which gutted two AC coaches of the Tatanagar-Ernakulam Express on Dec 29, was reportedly caused by brake binding of wheels, railway sources have said.Brake binding occurs when brake blocks stay applied to the wheels even after the loco pilot releases the brakes, preventing the wheels from rotating freely and causing excessive heat, smoke, wheel damage and potentially dangerous situations such as train detachment.The sources said staff at the Yelamanchili railway station noticed that the wheels of the gutted coaches had turned extremely hot and looked like molten steel. The sources also said the fire mishap, which claimed the life of a 70-year-old cloth merchant from Vijayawada, was not caused by a short circuit as the panel boards were found in good shape.“The loco pilots might not have noticed brake binding due to poor visibility caused by fog. Generally, hot wheels emit smoke, give out a grinding or dragging noise, or cause heavy train running. A technical system failure may have also been one of the reasons,” they said.Meanwhile, South Central Railway Zone (SCR) safety commissioner Madhavi is inquiring into the incident which occurred near the Yelamanchili railway station in Anakapalle district. The blaze, which is said to have originated in the linen storage area where bedrolls, blankets and pillows are generally stored for AC class passengers, engulfed B1 and M2 coaches. However, 157 passengers managed to escape as one of the loco pilots stopped the train at the Yelamanchili station.Soon after the incident, the safety commissioner reportedly summoned the staff of Narsingaballi and Yelamanchili stations, who were on duty at the time of the mishap, for questioning. Railway sources said officers of different ranks at these two stations were also questioned by Madhavi, who took written statements from them. Now, officials are verifying and examining the spread of the fire with the help of CCTV footage from the B1 coach.
