Overview
- The Railway Board has instructed all zonal railways to disconnect power to onboard mobile and electronic charging points between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. with no exceptions.
- The directive follows a reported power‑bank explosion that produced thick smoke inside a coach on a South Eastern Railway service.
- Railways said staff had failed to switch off chargers during the restricted hours and ordered training for frontline workers plus surprise inspections to enforce the rule.
- Passengers are being told to fully charge phones, laptops and other essential devices before travel because overnight onboard charging will not be available.
- The overnight switch‑off is a re‑enforcement of a long‑standing safety rule that dates to 2014 after a major onboard fire, and some zones began enforcing it as early as 2021.