Nearly a week after the new Vande Bharat train between Mumbai Central and Gandhinagar was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the train suffered minor damages on Thursday morning after it hit cattle on tracks in Gujarat.
The incident occurred at 11:18 a.m. between Gairatpur and Vatva stations.
“Three-four buffaloes suddenly came on the way of the Mumbai-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat, damaging the train’s nose made up of FRP [fibre-reinforced plastic]. However, no functional part got damaged,” a Railway official said.
The official said the carcasses were removed and the train resumed its journey within eight minutes and reached on time at Gandhinagar.
The Railways is trying to counsel villagers not to leave cattle nearby tracks, the official added.
‘Train ran as per sanctioned speed’
Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer (CPRO), WR, told PTI the train was running as per the sanctioned speed on the section when the buffaloes suddenly came on the tracks.
"The driver of the train was fully alert. He immediately blew the train's whistle and also applied brakes, but the reaction time was less," Mr. Thakur said.
The CPRO said WR is going to undertake fencing work on the Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad section to increase the speed of the train to 160 kmph and avoid such incidents in the future.
The fencing work is likely to be completed by March 2024, Mr. Thakur said.
Another official said three buffaloes died in the incident.
The indigenously designed and manufactured semi-high-speed train, the third service under the Vande Bharat series, was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 30 from Gandhinagar Capital and its started the commercial run from the next day.
Vande Bharat Express trains already run on Delhi-Varanasi and Delhi-Katra routes.
From Wednesday (October 5), WR revised the train's timetable and reduced travelling time by five minutes between Mumbai Central and Gandhinagar Capital and by 20 minutes between Gandhinagar Capital and Mumbai Central.
The indigenously designed trainset (Train-18) has undergone a lot of upgradation in its Vande Bharat 2.0 version.
In the new version, rotating seats in executive chair car coaches, automatic sliding doors, improved communication between guard and loco pilots, aeroplane-like vacuum toilets, improved interiors and reclining seats are some of the major upgrades.
(With PTI inputs)
