The Rs 97 crore Vande Bharat Express has been experiencing a lot of bad luck. As per reports, the newly launched superfast train was damaged again on February 20 when two cows that strayed on the track got hit by it at a speed of 130 kilometres per hour
The incident reportedly took place somewhere at 8 am between Bhartana and Ekdil railway station near Tundla when it was making the return trip from Varanasi to New Delhi, causing the train to get delayed by 95 minutes.
Holy cows! Vande Bharat Express Train 18 damaged in cattle hit. A horrific picture by Jaideep Meghana Parag Kane of the damage to India's iconic train set following a cattle hit on Wednesday. Two cows were hit at 130kmph. pic.twitter.com/DYBcAEtE1p
— Rajendra B. Aklekar (@rajtoday) February 21, 2019
Journalist Rajendra B Aklekar posted images of the mishap, which show how severely damaged the nose cone was post the collision. Some social media users reported that the impact of the crash was felt in the first three coaches.
Earlier in the day during the down journey, the train had also collided with a motorbike at the railway crossing near Phaphamau, around 42 kilometres from Allahabad, when a man was trying to cross the automated crossing illegally. The man abandoned the bike on track as he saw the train was approaching at high speed. Northern Railway Spokesperson Deepak Kumar told PTI that while the vehicle was damaged completely, the Vande Bharat Express did not receive any major damage. No injuries were reported in the incident.
Also read: Day After Being Inaugurated by PM Modi, Vande Bharat Express Breaks Down