An empty Vande Bharat train with an allegedly inefficient braking system was allowed to travel 463 km between Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh on October 24, despite warnings from the loco pilot about poor brake power, prompting the South Eastern Railway (SER) zone to initiate a probe into the incident.
The empty chair car rake was being moved from Hatia in Jharkhand to Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh using a freight locomotive.
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 allegedly failed to ensure proper integration and ignored warnings from the train crew after the problem was flagged.
The incident posed a potential threat to other passenger trains. "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 incident took place days before the Kolkata-Sairang Express derailed in Assam on November 11 due to almost similar negligence.
In an official order dated November 7, the SER zone directed the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Ranchi to probe the incident. It 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 said.
The order 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 (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 said.
Another loco pilot, who operated the train from Muri station, also informed the concerned controllers about the poor braking performance. He specifically reported that the brakes could not be applied by dropping the BP pressure.
Only at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) station in Uttar Pradesh's Chandauli district did railway staff take the matter seriously. Officials at DDU subsequently inspected the train and found that the braking systems of all the coaches had been isolated, resulting in the brakes not 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 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.
It also found that the concerned railway staff had taken no action despite receiving information about the poor brake power. The order further noted that the train crew, who were unfamiliar with the Vande Bharat's braking system, 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.
(With inputs from PTI)
