LODHRAN: A railway saloon – URA-20 wagon – was reduced to ashes after it caught fire on Monday night near Lodhran.

According to Railway Station Master Mr Anwer Rasheed, the wagon was attached with Tezgam Express to take some officers from Lahore to Karachi but there was no officer in the bogie when the fire erupted.

According to attendant staff, wagon URA-20 caught fire after spark in some electric wires near Gelewal and the staff doused the flames with fire extinguishers.

After a few minutes near Shahnal, it caught fire again and the staff informed the railway officials about it, Anwer Rasheed told Dawn.

Rasheed said he called Rescue 1122 and the train was stopped near Lodhran. The wagon was split from the train. All other upcoming trains were stopped. After rescue operation, Tezgam left for Karachi after four hours.

He said the loss would be worked out. “As it is a VIP saloon, its price may be around Rs10 million. An inquiry into the incident is being conducted.”

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2019