Fact Check: Indian Railways Reveals Why Old Engine Pulled Vande Bharat Express In Viral Video

The viral video shows a WAG-9 electric engine pulling a Vande Bharat train to take it to its designated route before the semi-high-speed train becomes operational.

Image Source- Twitter

A video went viral on social media showing a Vande Bharat Express getting pulled by an old electric engine raising questions over the train's functionality. The video attracted a lot of attention on Twitter, including from leaders of national parties. Congress leader Krishna Allavaru took a jibe at the government by drawing a comparison between the old locomotive and INC's rule in India. 

In his tweet, Krishna Allavaru said, "The history of 70 years drags the lies of the last 9 years," along with the video of the Vande Bharat Express train. The now-viral video shows the semi-high-speed train getting pulled by an old electric engine. Meanwhile, the people who recorded the video can be heard talking in the background.

According to reports, Shashank Jaiswal took the video on June 22 in the area of Sakaldiha railway station in Uttar Pradesh. Jaiswal posted a video of the occurrence to Instagram along with the information that the Vande Bharat train was travelling from Patna to Chennai's Integral Coach Factory. He claimed that because there were no crew members in the Vande Bharat, a WAG-9 class engine was used to move it.

पीछले 9 सालों के झूठ को खींच कर ले जाता 70 सालों का इतिहास pic.twitter.com/WwdCIj7cQL

— Krishna Allavaru (@Allavaru) June 29, 2023

The video got the attention of Railway authorities. Giving clarification on the situation, East Central Railway said in a Tweet that another engine pulls the train when it is first added to the rails until its route is decided. A train is only driven by its loco pilot and crew after the route is announced. During these trials, the train is driven by a driver familiar with the prescribed route.

Meanwhile, many social media users criticized the Vande Bharat Express trains and the claims of the train having high speed. Furthermore, they went on to compare the WAG-9 engine with Congress Party's rule in India and Vande Bharat Express as BJP's rule.