New Delhi, Northern Railway has expedited the process of installing scanners at parcel screening stations before loading them onto trains following the recent fire incident in a parcel truck of the New Delhi-Chennai Grand Trunk Express near Wardha in Maharashtra.
The district has requested installation of three X-ray machines on the Ajmeri Gate side of New Delhi railway station to scan parcels, officials said.
“One machine has already been delivered and is in the process of installation. The other will arrive at some point. We will see if these three machines will meet our requirements. In case we need more, we will immediately place orders accordingly,” a senior railway official said.
He added: “According to our current plan, we want to install three scanners in the first phase, and four more in the subsequent phase.”
Many passengers had a narrow escape on February 17, 2026, when a seat and luggage coach, the last coach of the New Delhi-Chennai Grand Trunk Express, caught fire.
Although the initial investigation blamed a faulty emergency lighting unit battery as the primary cause of the fire, the incident raised safety concerns, officials said.
They also said that in two other cases of fire incidents on trains in the recent past, flammable materials such as batteries and chemical solvents were discovered in parcel trucks.
Railway standards prohibit flammable materials such as parcels as well as in passenger baggage on trains for operational safety purposes. Although X-ray machines are installed at various stations to screen passengers’ luggage, parcel consignments are being loaded into trains without being checked.
In light of past fire incidents caused by flammable parcels, the Ministry of Railways has asked railway areas to install scanners. However, it has been implemented at a slow pace.
“The GT Express fire incident has once again alerted the railway authorities prompting them to speed up the installation process,” another senior railway official said.
“While some departments and districts are procuring machines and outsourcing work at the station to private agencies, others are inviting machine-owning companies to install and monitor the systems. The railway authorities will monitor the feed,” he added.
The scanning machine will not only help in preventing transportation of inflammable materials, but will also scan several other illegal items like currencies, drugs, etc., said railway employees posted at the station.
“Some people, who benefit from transportation of illegal materials, may try to sabotage the process or create obstacles in the way of installation of these machines, but the railway authorities are firm in implementing the process,” the official said.
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