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A fire broke out in the Delhi-bound Vande Bharat Express in the early hours of July 17. The incident occurred near the Kurwai - Kethora railway station in the Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh. No injuries have been reported from the incident.
The Bhopal - Delhi Vande Bharat Express was inaugurated by PM Modi on April 2, 2023. The train, which runs between Rani Kamalapati Station and Hazrat Nizamuddin Terminal, was en route to Delhi when smoke and fire were noticed. The smoke had arisen from the fire in the battery box of the C-14 coach. Following the observation, the fire brigade was immediately notified and the train was halted at the Kurwai- Kethora station. The fire brigade reportedly extinguished the fire at 7:58 AM, as per the details given to Press Trust of India by West Bengal Central Railway CPRO, Rahul Shrivastava.
“Following the incident, the battery box that caught fire was isolated for further investigation,” the official said to news agency PTI. Details as to the cause of the malfunction are yet to be out.
About Vande Bharat Express
The Indian Railways launched the Vande Bharat Express as the country’s first indigenous semi-high-speed train. The Vande Bharat Express trains have been manufactured under the government’s ambitious ‘Make in India’ initiative, with major train systems designed and built in India. The trains boast world-class amenities for passengers and enhanced safety with KAVACH (Train Collision Avoidance System). They can run up to a maximum speed of 160 km/ph. The Vande Bharat trains are currently operational on 25 routes in the country. It is worth noting that the Vande Bharat trains cost ₹108 crores (per unit) without GST. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has previously announced that four hundred new-generation Vande Bharat Trains would be developed by 2025, as per Union Budget 2022-23. The coaches of the Vande Bharat have a regenerative braking system that can save up to 30% of electrical energy, as per PIB press release.
However, the trains have skirted controversies ever since their inception. Instances of littering inside the trains and the trains running into cattle have been reported. More serious concerns about the frequent breakdowns on various routes remain unanswered. Hence, today’s incident serves as the latest addition to an already existing plethora of questions on the efficiency of the trains.
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