Fire destroys generator car

CIREBON, West Java: Fire destroyed the generator car of the Bengawan economy train in Cirebon regency early on Tuesday, the second train fire to occur in less than 24 hours.

There were no fatalities in the dawn fire, but the state railway company (PT KAI) said it had suffered hundreds of million of rupiah in losses due to the accident.

Around 500 passengers had to disembark from the train after the engineer made an emergency stop when he saw flames emerging from the generator. Another train transported the passengers to Surakarta in Central Java.

PT KAI stopped traffic on the southbound track for a couple of hours to enable the fire brigade to extinguish the burning car, leading to a number of trains being delayed.

PT KAI West Java region spokesman Suhartono said the railway company was investigating the incident. Around 8 a.m. on Monday, two cars of the Argobromo executive train caught fire just after it arrived from Jakarta at Pasar Turi station in Surabaya. -- JP