Railway staff ignore warnings as Vande Bharat travels 463 km without effective brakes

An empty Vande Bharat rake travelled 463 km from Jharkhand to Uttar Pradesh despite ineffective brakes. South Eastern Railway has ordered a probe after loco pilots' warnings were allegedly ignored, with preliminary findings pointing to negligence by railway staff

New Delhi: An empty Vande Bharat train with an allegedly inefficient braking system was allowed to travel 463 km between Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh in October, prompting the South Eastern Railway (SER) zone to initiate a probe into the incident, which posed a potential threat to other passenger trains.

The incident took place on October 24, days before the Kolkata-Sairang Express derailed in Assam on November 11 due to alleged negligence of a similar nature.

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“Running a train without adequate brake power is a serious safety concern that may lead to a major accident, endangering the lives of staff and passengers and affecting the safety of railway operations,” the railway zone said.

The empty chair car rake was to be hauled by a freight locomotive from Hatia in Jharkhand to Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.

Officials said the Vande Bharat’s braking system was supposed to be integrated with that of the goods locomotive, which was to pull the rake throughout the journey.

However, railway staff not only failed to ensure proper integration but also ignored warnings from the train crew after the problem was flagged.

In an official order directing the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Ranchi to initiate a probe, the SER zone said instructions had been issued on October 24 to move an empty Vande Bharat rake from Hatia to Jhansi.

“As per the statement of the loco pilot, the brake feel and brake power test was conducted after departure from HTE (Hatia) in the HTE-RNC (Hatia-Ranchi) section, in accordance with the existing instructions in force,” the order dated November 7 said.

It added: “However, during the test, the LP found that the brake power of the train was very poor and ineffective.”

Upon arriving at Ranchi station, the loco pilot submitted a written complaint to railway staff, including the section controller and traction loco controller, regarding the poor brake power.

“The train was permitted to proceed in the same condition despite the reported poor brake power,” the order noted.

It added that another loco pilot, who operated the train from Muri station, had also informed the concerned controllers about the poor braking performance. He specifically reported that the brakes could not be applied by lowering the BP pressure.

It was only at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) station in Uttar Pradesh’s Chandauli district that railway staff took the matter seriously.

Subsequently, officials at DDU inspected the train and found that the braking systems of all the coaches had been isolated, preventing the brakes from being applied.

The preliminary probe identified the coach and wagon (C&W) staff, section and traction controllers at the concerned stations, and the train crew who operated the rake from Hatia to DDU as having been negligent.

The probe also noted that C&W staff, who are responsible for maintaining the train, had failed to physically check whether the brakes were functioning properly before allowing the empty rake to depart.

The order added that the concerned railway staff had taken no action despite receiving information about the poor brake power.

It also noted that, since the train crew was unfamiliar with the Vande Bharat’s braking system, they had failed to physically check whether the brakes were being applied in the coaches.

“From the above, it is evident that there were multiple failures on the part of various staff, resulting in the train being worked without effective train brakes,” the order added.

The train was operated solely on the locomotive’s brakes and regenerative braking, without the application of the coaches’ braking systems, and travelled approximately 463 km, the order stated.

“In view of the above, it is requested that the matter should be investigated in detail to ascertain the lapses on the part of the staff concerned. Necessary corrective and preventive measures may also be taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future,” the order concluded.