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Vande Bharat Express hits cow in Gujarat, second such incident in two days
On Thursday, the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express, recently flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had hit four buffaloes and its nose cone had to be replaced.
A day after the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express collided with buffaloes, the newly launched semi-high-speed train hit a cow in between Kanjari and Anand stations in Gujarat on Friday, resulting in minor damage to the train's nose panel.
On Thursday, the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express, recently flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had hit four buffaloes and its nose cone had to be replaced.
In the latest incident, a railway official said the train did not sustain major damage, except for a small dent on the nose cone panel.
The incident on Friday took place at 3.45 pm near Anand, about 432 km from Mumbai. “The Mumbai train ran over into a cow that came in its path. The incident took place around 3.45 pm. There is not much damage and the train had to halt for about 10 minutes. It is presently on its way to Mumbai,” an official at the Western Railways, Vadodara, told Hindustan Times.
See Pics | Vande Bharat Express train hit by cattle gets its nose replaced
On Thursday, panels on the nose of the express train’s engine were damaged. Officials said the train resumed its journey to Gandhinagar after an eight-minute halt and arrived there as per scheduled.
“Three-four buffaloes that suddenly appeared on the tracks while the Vande Bharat train was heading towards Gandhinagar damaged the FRP [fibre-reinforced plastic] panels on the nose of the engine. These panels are lightweight [and] so got damaged...it did not impact the functioning of the train. The train left the spot after an eight-minute halt [for the removal of buffalo]... carcasses and continued on its journey,” said a western railway spokesperson.
On September 30, Modi flagged off the Vande Bharat Express train at the Gandhinagar station and travelled on it to Ahmedabad. This is the third Vande Bharat train in the country. The other two run between New Delhi-Varanasi and New Delhi-Katra. The new Vande Bharat train runs six times a week.
(With inputs from agencies)
