As on December 26, 2024, a total of 136 Vande Bharat train services were running across the railway network.


much-celebrated flagship train of the Indian Railways — the Vande Bharat Express — is prone to serious accidents even in cases of a cattle run-over, says a report on railway safety. The report, accessed by The Hindu, says the leading coach of the Vande Bharat trains was much lighter than the locomotive of regular trains and hitting any obstruction or even cattle run-over might lead to a serious accident at higher speeds.

The report generated by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Ministry of Civil Aviation, explains the safety measures to be taken by the Railways for operation of high-speed trains.

Asking the Ministry of Railways to ensure provision of sturdy fencing to prevent trespassing by humans and cattle, which posed a threat to the trains, the report said level crossing gates should be eliminated on routes where trains were operated at 160 kmph.

Engineer says train safe

Asked for his comments, Shubhranshu, former Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer, Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, said the front nose cone of these trains was designed to crumple and absorb some of the impact energy. Also, the cattle guard at the front was made to scoop and deflect the obstruction.

He said the leading coaches of Vande Bharat trains were well within the average weight of the coaches. “It is light compared with a locomotive. But that is how train sets are designed. There is no locomotive at the front and the propulsion power is distributed along the train. Even the EMUs, MEMUs of Indian Railways and all train sets anywhere in the world have similar arrangements. It doesn’t make the train any less safe on this account,” he said.

Mr. Shubhranshu led the Team-ICF that made the first Train18 rake in a record 18 months’ time in October 2018. The rake was named Vande Bharat Express and flagged off between Delhi and Varanasi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2019 and was considered as one of the most successful products of the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

 

The safety report said Railways should identify regular trespassing locations and cattle ingress and devise suitable mechanism such as deployment of Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, regular patrolling and providing subway for crossing.


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