Stones Pelted at Rourkela-Bhubaneswar Vande Bharat Express train in Odisha: this is not the first time in the country

• In yet another incident of stone pelting on Vande Bharat Express, the Rourkela-Bhubaneswar (20835) train was targeted by unidentified miscreants in Odisha. 
• The incident took place between Meramandali and Budhapank on the Dhenkanal-Angul railway section in the state. 
• Similar incidents occurred in other parts of the country. However, no passengers have been harmed in any of the incidents so far. 
• Earlier in July Stones were pelted at the Bhopal-Delhi Vande Bharat Express. 
• Later in August this year, the Vande Bharat Express train attacked in Uttar Pradesh  
• The Vande Bharat Express is a medium-distance train service operated by Indian Railways. 
•  Similar to Shatabdi Express, these are day train services that connect Indian cities that are less than 10 hours apart. 

In yet another incident of stone pelting on Vande Bharat Express, the Rourkela-Bhubaneswar (20835) train was targeted by unidentified miscreants in Odisha on Sunday. According to officials, the incident took place between Meramandali and Budhapank on the Dhenkanal-Angul railway section in the state. They further said that the windowpane of an executive class coach was damaged in the incident.

The incident was reported by the on-duty RPF escort staff. Following the information, the security wing of the East Coast Railway zone (ECoR) alerted the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Government Railway Police (GRP). RPF’s Assistant Security Commissioner from Cuttack rushed to the spot. “Local police were also been informed about the matter. Strict action will be taken against the stone-palters. Both the security wing of ECoR in coordination with local police are on the job to trace out the culprits,” the railways said in a statement.

It should be noted here that this is not the first time in the country the Vande Bharat Express train has been targeted. Similar incidents occurred in other parts of the country. However, no passengers have been harmed in any of the incidents so far.

Earlier in July, stones were thrown at the Bhopal-Delhi Vande Bharat Express train near Agra Railway Division. However, the stone pelting incident didn’t cause harm to any passenger but the glasses of the train’s coach were damaged, said officials. According to railway sources, the incident had occurred on the train between Mania and Jajau stations of the Agra Railway Division.

Later in August this year, another Vande Bharat Express train was attacked with stones by unidentified men. According to officials, stones were pelted at the Gorakhpur-Lucknow Vande Bharat Express train and its glass panel was broken. The incident took place near Safedabad railway station in Barabanki when the train was going from Gorakhpur to Lucknow.

The Vande Bharat Express is a medium-distance train service operated by Indian Railways. Similar to Shatabdi Express, these are day train services that connect Indian cities that are less than 10 hours apart. The trainset, formerly known as Train 18, was designed and manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF). Train 18 was renamed ‘Vande Bharat’ as an acknowledgment of the fact that it was completely built in India by Indian engineers and the services were thus named ‘Vande Bharat Express’. It was made for low-cost maintenance and operational optimization. The cost of a 16-coach Vande Bharat train is about Rs 115 crore.

(With inputs from agencies)