Vande Bharat Express breakdown reports exaggerated; was just a cattle-hit

While a section of the media dubbed the temporary glitch which Vande Bharat Express experienced on Saturday night while returning from Varanasi to Delhi as a catastrophe, sources in the railway ministry told MyNation that it was just that: "temporary".

The 'minor' glitch that India's fastest train experiences, ministry sources confirmed, happened as the train ran over a cattle near Tundla, close to Agra, and some 200 km from Delhi.

Moreover, even as a particular section of the media suspected that the commercial operation of India's semi-high-speed train scheduled to start from February 17 was uncertain to proceed as planned, ministry sources told MyNation that the train would run as planned since yesterday's glitch was minor.

"This run from Varanasi to Delhi was anyway not a scheduled commercial run and naysayers do not need to worry so much. The train will commence commercial operations as scheduled and planned," a source in the ministry said.

Railway sources said the train experienced some problems in its braking circuits after the cattle run over, and since it is a new technology-based train set, it took some time to set it right on its way to Delhi from Tundla.

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According to sources, Train 18 or Vande Bharat Express was standing at Barhein, 18 km from Tundla, from 6.30 AM to 8.15 AM.

After removing the obstacles, the train resumed its journey and moved for Delhi at around 8.15 AM.

This is a made in India train that can attain a maximum speed of 180 km/h and a first of its kind in India. It was flagged off with much fanfare by PM Narendra Modi Friday morning.

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