Pune: Railway and NDRF Conduct Derailment and Fire Accident Drill at Daund

Pune, 18th December 2025: Pune Division of Central Railway conducted a joint disaster management mock drill at Daund on December 18, 2025, as part of its annual preparedness exercise to assess response mechanisms during major accident scenarios. The drill was carried out in coordination with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and multiple state and local emergency agencies.

A simulated accident scenario was created in which two coaches of Train No. 00128 Down Pune–Banaras Special Express one sleeper coach and one SLR coach were assumed to have derailed. The exercise further simulated a fire in one of the coaches with passengers trapped inside.

Following the simulated accident, the station master at Daund relayed the information to the Pune Division Control Office. The control office immediately alerted concerned railway departments and external agencies. The Accident Relief Train and Accident Relief Medical Equipment were dispatched, and messages were sent to NDRF, fire brigade, ambulance services, civil defence, city police, and other state government agencies.

Senior railway officers, medical teams, railway staff, and Railway Protection Force personnel reached the site and initiated rescue and relief operations. NDRF teams, along with civil defence, fire brigade, and railway rescue staff, carried out systematic evacuation of trapped passengers using specialized rescue equipment. Fire brigade personnel extinguished the simulated fire inside the affected coach, while NDRF teams conducted interior searches, including the use of a live body detection dog squad, to locate remaining casualties.

Rescued passengers were provided first aid at the site by railway medical teams and subsequently shifted to nearby hospitals through ambulances arranged with the support of state authorities. The drill also included coordinated roof-cutting operations by ART and NDRF teams from both ends of the coach to extricate trapped passengers.

“All departments and external agencies responded as per laid-down protocols, allowing us to test communication flow, response time, and on-ground coordination in a realistic environment,” said Public Relations Officer Hemant Kumar Behera. He added that such drills help identify operational gaps, improve coordination among agencies, and enhance readiness for handling real-life emergencies.

According to officials, all simulated passengers were evacuated within the stipulated timeframe, and the mock emergency situation was brought under control in about one hour. The drill involved officers from mechanical, electrical, engineering, operations, medical, commercial, signal and telecommunication, safety, and public relations departments of the Pune Division, along with NDRF personnel.

The joint mock drill was organized by the Safety Department of Pune Division, Central Railway, as part of routine disaster preparedness and coordination exercises.