Explained: Why you can’t charge your phone on a train between 11 pm and 5 am

What has changed? The Railway Board has told all zonal railways to make sure mobile phone and laptop charging points in train coaches stay switched off from 11 pm to 5 am, PTI reported on Wednesday (28 October). “No exception should be permitted on this account,” the board said in a letter dated 26 October.

Is this a new rule? No. The board first ordered charging points switched off at night in June 2014, PTI reported. The new letter is a reminder that the rule must be followed strictly. Senior railway officials told The Hindu it had apparently not been enforced consistently on some trains.

What triggered the reminder? A passenger’s power bank exploded while charging in an AC coach of the Mumbai–Howrah Mail (12809) at about 3.38 am on 24 October, near Bandamunda station in Odisha, Hindustan Times reported. It caught fire and released smoke, and the train was halted for about 15 minutes. “Recently, an instance has occurred in SER wherein onboard staff did not switch off the mobile charging points during the aforesaid period. Subsequently, during charging, a passenger’s power bank exploded with smoke,” the board wrote. The Hindu reported no major injuries.

Why 2014? The original order followed a recommendation by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) after a 2013 fire in an AC 3-tier coach of the Hazur Sahib Nanded–KSR Bengaluru Express. The CRS had suggested switching off power points in AC coaches from 10 pm to 6 am. The board settled on 11 pm to 5 am, “taking safety into consideration and for passengers’ convenience”, and asked for stickers in AC coaches to tell passengers, according to PTI.

Why are night charging and power banks a concern? Officials say overcharging devices carries a fire risk, which is higher at night when passengers plug in and sleep, ETGovernment reported in April 2021, when the rule was last tightened. Hindustan Times noted another power bank blast in a Mumbai AC local last week and a November 2023 fire in a sleeper coach of the New Delhi–Darbhanga Humsafar clone special that spread to adjoining coaches.

How will it be enforced? Zones must train onboard staff, and officers and supervisors must carry out surprise inspections, the board said. Some officials told The Hindu that the focus should instead be on stopping power banks from being charged overnight.

What does it mean for passengers? On overnight journeys, phones, laptops and power banks will need to be charged before 11 pm, because the sockets will be dead until 5 am.