'Tracks still on ground...' Railway Minister on Vande Bharat's accident, says no functional damage to train

The newly launched Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express train had an accident when a herd of buffalo crossed the railway line, although no functional parts were damaged. Around 11.15 am, an accident occurred between Vatva station and Maninagar on the train travelling from Mumbai Central to Gujarat's Gandhinagar. It is to be noted that the damaged nose of the train has now been replaced with a new one.

Talking about the incident, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "All railway tracks in country still on ground, on surface. Problem of cattle thus persists. However, trains are being designed to tackle such issues. Even after yesterday's incident, nothing happened to the Vande Bharat train, front part was repaired."

All railway tracks in country still on ground, on surface. Problem of cattle thus persists. However, trains are being designed to tackle such issues. Even after yesterday's incident, nothing happened to the Vande Bharat train, front part was repaired: Union Min Ashwini Vaishnav pic.twitter.com/xlyeZCFPS6 — ANI (@ANI) October 7, 2022

"The accident damaged the front part of the engine. However, no functional part was damaged. The train moved just after removing carcasses (within 8 minutes) and reached on time at Gandhinagar. The incident occurred at 11:18 am between Gairatpur-Vatva station," said Western Railway Sr PRO, JK Jayant.

Also read: Vande Bharat Express accident update: Nose of Mumbai-Gandhinagar train repaired within 24 hours

On this hit with cattle, the Nose Cone Cover of the front coach, i.e., the Driver coach, was damaged with its mounting brackets. The nose cover is designed to absorb the impact without transmitting the same to the functional parts of the train. Therefore, it is sacrificial by design and hence replaceable.

"Railway keeps sufficient nose-cones as spare. It was replaced with a new one in the Mumbai Central depot in no time during the maintenance, and the train was put back in service without any extra downtime. The train departed from Mumbai today without any inconvenience to the passengers. Western Railway is taking all actions to prevent such type of incidents in future," read an official statement.

The repairing of the wagon was done in Mumbai." Cone of Vande Bharat Express running has been repaired at the coaching care center in Mumbai Central," the officials added. Earlier on September 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Central Vande Bharat Express train at Gandhinagar. This was the third Vande Bharat train in the country, the other two being run between New Delhi - Varanasi and New Delhi - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra.

The new Vande Bharat Express train will run between Gandhinagar and Mumbai, connecting the state capitals of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The train will run 6 days a week, except Sunday.

The Vande Bharat train 20901, from Mumbai Central, will depart at 6.10 am to reach Gandhinagar at 12.30 pm, officials said, adding that the return train 20902 to Mumbai will depart Gandhinagar Capital station at 2.05 pm to reach Mumbai Central at 8.35 pm.

Officials also said that the train with 16 coaches has a seating capacity of 1,128 passengers and will halt at three stations: Surat, Vadodara, and Ahmedabad, before reaching Gandhinagar Capital station.

The new Vande Bharat trains would have improved features, including reclining seats, automatic fire sensors, CCTV cameras, on-demand content with a Wi-fi facility, three-hour battery backup, and GPS systems to make travelling safer and more comfortable. The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai has set a target of manufacturing 75 Vande Bharat trains by August 2023. 

(With inputs from ANI)