Mumbai-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat Express suffers damage twice in two days after hitting Cattle

Another incident of Vande Bharat Express ramming into cattle is reported for the second consecutive day after it was repaired in a quick span of time.

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The Mumbai-Gandhinagar recently ram into cattle is back in the new again for the same reason. The semi-high-speed train hits cattle again, and it is the second incident in 2 consecutive days. The train's nose was recently repaired in record time. The nose of the recently launched Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat Express train was damaged after it collided with a buffalo near Ahmedabad at around 11.15 AM on Thursday. The train was headed to Gandhinagar at the time. The incident had happened between Ahmedabad's Vatva and Maninagar stations, but on Thursday, the train travelled without the panel to Gandhinagar Capital station and again to Mumbai Central.

Gujarat: Vande Bharat Express rams into cattle in second such incident in as many days; train's front portion has suffered minor dent: Official

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 7, 2022

Ashwini Vaishnaw's take on accident

Speaking on 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."

"The nose cone cover of the train's driver coach, along with its mounting brackets, was damaged in the cattle-hit incident. However, the vital parts of the train remained unaffected. The damaged nose cone was replaced at the Coach Care Centre in Mumbai Central," Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer of the Western Railway, said.

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.

Mumbai-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Train

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 agencies