Fulera, Rajasthan, November 1, 2025: A 35-year-old catering manager, Arjun Singh, suffered a heart attack onboard the Vande Bharat Express traveling from Jodhpur to Delhi on the morning of Friday, October 31, 2025 near Fulera rescued by two doctors onboard.
According to Dr. Pravesh Gautam, a dentist from Jodhpur who was traveling on the train, Singh was speaking on the phone when he complained of severe chest pain near the pantry area outside the executive coach. Within moments, he collapsed and lost consciousness, triggering panic among the onboard staff.
According to NHS ,"A heart attack (myocardial infarction or MI) is a serious medical emergency in which the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked, usually by a blood clot."
Two passengers, Dr. Manish Srivastava, Registrar at AIIMS Jodhpur, and Dr. Pravesh Gautam, quickly came forward to help. They requested the train’s first-aid kit but found it to be inadequately stocked, containing only basic medicines for cold and cough, with no aspirin or emergency cardiac drugs.
Fortunately, Dr. Gautam had Isosorbide, a medicine commonly used for acute heart pain (angina) and listed by the World Health Organization as an essential drug. The doctors immediately began Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and continued for several minutes until Singh’s pulse and breathing stabilized. Once he regained partial consciousness, he was given the medicine, which helped improve his condition further.
According to American Heart Association ,"CPR – or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation – is an emergency lifesaving procedure performed when the heart stops beating. Immediate CPR can double or triple chances of survival after cardiac arrest."
When the train halted at Fulera station, there was no stretcher available to carry the patient. Passengers, along with Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, joined hands to lift Singh and move him to an ambulance. He was taken to Fulera Hospital, where doctors confirmed that he was stable after treatment. Later in the evening, Singh returned safely to Jodhpur on the same Vande Bharat train.
Vikas Khera, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (DCM) of Railways, stated that cardiology or super-specialty medicines are currently not part of the standard first-aid protocol onboard trains. Following this incident, the railway administration has directed that life-saving cardiac medicines be included in first-aid boxes across all passenger trains according to Dainik Bhaskar.
Khera added that instructions have also been issued to take disciplinary action against officials responsible for the lack of a stretcher at Fulera station.
Medical experts have emphasized that train staff such as ticket examiners, guards, and attendants should receive CPR and basic emergency training. They noted that in medical crises, every second counts, and trained personnel can make a life-saving difference.
They further urged the Railways to upgrade the onboard first-aid system by adding essential cardiac medicines, pain relievers, anti-allergic injections, and emergency drugs, calling the Fulera episode a wake-up call for stronger medical preparedness on long-distance trains.
(Rh/VK/MSM)
