Fire erupts in battery box of Bhopal-Delhi Vande Bharat train | VISUALS

The Vande Bharat Express train started at 5.40 am from Bhopal, West Central Railway's chief public relations officer Rahul Shrivastava said.

"When it was passing through Kalhar station, the station manager noticed smoke billowing out from the battery box of the C-14 coach following which he alerted senior officials and the train was stopped at Kurwai-Kaithora station," Shrivastava said.

Fire at Bhopal-Delhi Vande Bharat train

"Fire brigade personnel extinguished the blaze by 7.58 am," he added. "The battery box is located quite far away from the passenger area under the coach," the official said. "The batteries were removed and the fire was extinguished," he said.

Ajay Singh, a Congress leader and former leader of the Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, was also travelling in the train to Gwalior. He said the train stopped as soon as the fire was noticed.

"People got down to see what happened. All passengers are safe. The train resumed its journey after remaining stranded for nearly three-and-a-half hours," Singh told PTI over the phone.

On April 1 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Vande Bharat train between Rani Kamalapati station to Hazrat Nizamuddin.