The driver’s windscreen and windows of some coaches of the Vande Bharat Express were damaged after flying ballast hit it during its Varanasi-New Delhi journey on Saturday, PTI reported.
The chief public relations officer of Northern Railway said ballast came flying towards the Vande Bharat Express near Achalda in Uttar Pradesh when the Dibrugarh Rajdhani train, crossing on the adjoining line, ran over cattle.
“The stone chunks hit the driver’s windscreen and one each side outer glasses of windows of coach numbers C4, C6, C7, C8, C13 and two glass panes of C12, causing damage,” the chief public relations officer said, according to ANI.
The CPRO said a technical team travelling on board the train assessed the damage, and said it was found fit. The train carried on with its journey to Delhi at its normal speed, the PRO said.
The CPRO said officials put on safety sheets on the damaged windows to ensure passengers do not face an inconvenience during the journey to Varanasi on Sunday. The train left for Varanasi on Sunday morning on schedule.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flagged off the Vande Bharat Express from the New Delhi Railway Station on February 15. The train, made indigenously at a cost of around Rs 97 crore, has been plagued with problem since its trial runs commenced in November last year. It had suffered damage to its window panes when stones were hurled on it on two earlier occasions.
India’s “fastest train” had broken down during its first return journey from Varanasi on February 16, a day after Modi flagged it off from New Delhi. On February 20, the train was vandalised in Uttar Pradesh’s Tundla, making it the third instance in two months. Hours later, the train also hit a motorcycle near Allahabad.
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!