Stones, Rods Found on Vande Bharat’s Track; Major Accident Averted as Operators Hit Emergency Brakes

A major accident was averted as train operators of Udaipur-Jaipur Vande Bharat Express spotted stones and iron rods on the railway track in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara and stopped the train immediately using emergency brakes on Monday.

Speaking to News18, the Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of North Western Railway, Capt. Shashi Kiran said that a case has been registered by the RPF under the Railways Act.

The stones were spotted on the Gangarar-Soniyana section at around 10 am, he said. The location comes under the jurisdiction of SHO/Gangarar in Chittaurgarh district.

“Train No 20979 Vande Bharat Udaipur-Jaipur stopped at KM no 158/18, 158/19 in Gangarar-Soniyana section. The stoppage was due to placing of some ballast on the track and of two rods, of one feet each, in the joggle plate on the said Km. The incident occurred at around 09:55 hrs in the jurisdiction of RPF/post/Bhilwara. The location comes under the jurisdiction of SHO/Gangarar in Chittaurgarh district,” the official told News18.

He also said that if emergency breaks were not applied on time, the train could have derailed.

“The spot was visited by DSC/Ajmer, IPF/Bhilwara, PWI/Gangarar, local Police and GRP officials. DSC/Ajmer has apprised SP/Chittaurgarh. RPF is registering a case under the Railways Act. PWI/Gangarar is also giving FIR to SHO/Gangarar,” the official added.

A video is going viral on X, formerly Twitter, in which stones, rail fasteners and iron rods can be seen placed on the railway tracks.

This is the third Vande Bharat trains for Rajasthan. Vande Bharat trains have witnessed stone pelting across the country. The first Vande Bharat was flagged off in February 2019 and since then the Railways has suffered damages worth Rs 55.60 lakh. However, no loss of life has been reported due to stone-pelting on Vande Bharat trains.

Across India, at least 151 people involved in stone-pelting have been arrested up to July. Currently, 34 Vande Bharat trains are running across India.

Meanwhile, former union minister and BJP MP from Jaipur Rural Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said some anarchists hatched such a big conspiracy to derail the Vande Bharat Express train on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to address a rally. He demanded that Rajasthan Police should immediately probe the matter and nab culprits.

Udaipur-Jaipur Vande Bharat Express was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month.