Vande Bharat Exp stoned again, later hits motorcycle

PRAYAGRAJ : The Vande Bharat Express hit a motorcycle in Allahabad on its third commercial run on Wednesday, the railways said, adding that no one was injured in the incident.

The incident occurred hours after stones were hurled at the train near Tundla in Uttar Pradesh in the morning.

Chief public relations officer, North Central Railway (NCR) GK Bansal while confirming the incident, said that the glass of a coach window got damaged in the incident.

The motorcycle incident took place near west end of Bariram Railway Station located between Phulpur and Janghai, around 40km from Allahabad junction station.

According to local railway officials, at the time of the incident, the semi-high speed train was travelling at a speed of 99km/hr and despite applying the brakes the train still hit the bike. Northern Railway (NR) chief public relations officer Deepak Kumar confirmed the incident. He said that the train hit a motorcycle after its owner abandoned it on the tracks seeing the train approaching while illegally trespassing on the tracks.

“The vehicle was badly damaged, but the Vande Bharat Express suffered no damage. No one was injured in the incident,” he added.The train, made indigenously at a cost of around Rs 97 crore, has been plagued by issues since its trial runs commenced in October last year. The engineless semi-high-speed train had also suffered damage to its window panes when stones were hurled on it on two occasions previously.