Vande Bharat Express, India's fastest train, broke down this morning, a day after its launch by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi.
The train, on the way back from Varanasi and travelling at a much slower speed than usual, reached Delhi in the afternoon. The Railway Ministry has attributed the disruption to a possible cattle run-over. However, there were no signs of damage on the front of the train.
The engine-less train, formerly known as Train 18, was returning from Varanasi after its inaugural run and broke down about 200 km from the capital at around 6 am. It resumed its journey after almost 2 hours at around 8.15 am before coming to a halt again at 8:55 am. After necessary repairs, it resumed its journey towards Delhi.
The train had to be brought to Delhi to fix the fault and it cannot be driven above 40 km per hour for now, sources said.
Modi ji, i think Make in India needs a serious rethink. Most people feel it has failed. I assure you we in the Congress are thinking very deeply about how it will be done. https://t.co/3jKBOzEmE3
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 16, 2019
The people on board, mostly railways officials and journalists, were shifted to another train. The train is expected to start its commercial run tomorrow.
India’s First Semi High Speed train Vande Bharat Express completed its inaugural trip to Varanasi and returned back to New Delhi. Looking forward to its regular run from tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Q8IppxIbxX
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) February 16, 2019
At around 5 am today, the power went out in some coaches on the train. Before coming to a halt at Chamrola station, the Vande Bharat Express had slowed down to a sluggish speed of 10 km per hour.
There was also a foul smell and mild smoke which was due to an internal system failure. Due to a deposit in the wheels, the braking system was jammed. Calling it a "mechanical fault in the braking system" the staff said the train made thumping noises when the speed was increased. According to the train staff, the fault had led to the control failures of the air-conditioners.
"During the transportation back from Varanasi to Delhi, the Vande Bharat Express was stopped at Chamraula station as there was an issue of communication between the last basic unit of four coaches and the rest of the train, probably due to some external hit," Railways spokesperson Smita Vats Sharma said, adding that the brakes were applied automatically.
Such a shame that you choose to attack the hard work and ingenuity of Indian engineers, technicians and labourers. It is THIS mindset which needs a reset. ‘Make In India’ is a success and a part of crores of Indian lives. Your family had 6 decades to think, wasn’t that enough? https://t.co/ebto2kTzst
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 16, 2019
The spokesperson allayed concerns about the indigenously built train, saying that it was now ready for its first commercial run on Sunday. "The train has already been examined at the New Delhi maintenance depot to address the communication failure that occurred during the journey," she said, assuring that all its other systems have been checked too.
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said he was "encouraged by the positive feedback" received on the run of the Vande Bharat Express and had decided to place an order for hundred more such trains to cover all routes where shorter distances can be covered.
Manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, Vande Bharat Express had all safety clearances, trials and tests in place. It had covered a distance of 7000 km in its three trial runs.