The newly launched semi-high-speed train Vande Bharat Express is in the headlines for the last three days because hitting cattle, a stumbling block hit the wheels because of jammed bearings. While the earlier accidents with cattle were with the train on the route between the Gandhinagar-Mumbai route, and this hiccup occurred on running the New Delhi-Varanasi route. As per the officials “The Varanasi Vande Bharat (Train no.22436) has suffered a failure due to a bearing defect in the Traction Motor of C8 coach between Dankaur and Wair stations of North Central Railway,” Later the bearing jam was fixed, and due to flat tires, passengers had to be moved to a Shatabdi train, rushed in from New Delhi, at Khurja station.
The train between Gandhinagar-Mumbai had hit a cow near Anand station in Gujarat on Friday, a day after it had hit a herd of buffaloes. There was only a dent on the train’s front bumper, and yesterday it had to be halted for 10 minutes only. In the incident on Thursday, the train had hit four buffaloes and its ‘nose’ cone had come off. It moves after an eight-minute halt, as damage to the nose – a bumper made of fiber-reinforced plastic – is not essential to functioning.
The animals died. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said such collisions with cattle are unavoidable, and “this has been kept in mind while designing the train”. “The nose on the front is replaceable,” the minister said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the newly launched train last month and traveled in it from Gandhinagar to Kalupur railway station in Ahmedabad.