The Secunderabad-Agartala Express was Tuesday halted at Odisha's Brahmapur railway station around noon as passengers alerted railway officials about smoke emitting from an air-conditioning unit inside a coach, officials said.
Though the smoke was controlled immediately, the panic-stricken passengers refused to travel in the coach fearing another electrical breakdown. They demanded a replacement for the coach.
Some passengers first noticed smoke in the B-5 coach and raised an alarm. Following this most of the passengers reportedly got down and refused to re-board the train, an official said.
"It was reported that a minor electrical issue occurred in the coach no. B-5 of Secunderabad-Agartala Express near Brahmapur station. The staff on duty attended to the issue immediately and rectified it," an East Coast Railway zone official said.