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Updated October 14th, 2019 at 09:05 IST

Vande Bharat Express: Passengers stranded without fan, AC and lights

The auxiliary converter of the Vande Bharat Express to New Delhi failed, leaving its passengers stranded at the Allahabad station without fan, AC, and lights.

Reported by: Akhil Oka
Vande Bharat
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October 13: On Sunday, the auxiliary converter of the Vande Bharat Express from Varanasi to New Delhi failed, leaving its passengers stranded at the Allahabad station for more than an hour. During this time, the fan, air conditioning, and lights were non-functional in at least three of the bogies. According to officials, 10 minutes prior to 4.50 pm, when the train reached Allahabad station, there was an onboard announcement about the malfunctioning of the AC. After the fault was rectified, the Vande Bharat Express resumed its journey at approximately 5.53 pm. On this occasion, the additional divisional railway manager of Allahabad, senior divisional mechanical engineer, senior divisional electrical engineer, station director and other senior officials of Allahabad division were present at the station. 

Read: Vande Bharat Express' First Run On October 5 For Delhi-Katra Route

The Vande Bharat Express 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Vande Bharat Express, also known as Train 18 on February 15, 2019. It was manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. This high-speed train can run up to a maximum speed of 160 km per hour. Built at a cost of Rs100 crore, it has the best amenities in the form of automatically sliding doors, mobile charging points, WiFi, GPS-based information system, bio-vacuum toilets, LED lighting and a climate control system. It has 16 compartments, with two executive class coaches which have rotating seats to match the direction of the train. 

Read: Amit Shah Pays Homage To Gandhi At The Launch Of Vande Bharat Express

Controversies 

The Vande Bharat Express has been dogged by controversy right from its inception. First, there were allegations about the lack of transparency at the production stage of the train. During its trial runs, stones were frequently thrown, damaging the windows in the process. Finally, when the train had its first commercial run on February 15, it developed technical snags and arrived nearly an hour and 25 minutes late in Varanasi. Just a day later, the train halted near the Tundla railway station, almost 200 km from Delhi due to a malfunction in its brake system. Furthermore, in March, the transformer of a coach caught fire. Also, there have been reports of the Vande Bharat Express running over cattle more than once.  

(With PTI inputs)

Read: Vande Bharat Delhi-Katra Express Launched: Here's All You Need To Know

Read: Vande Bharat Passengers Ecstatic After Reaching Katra In The New Train

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Published October 14th, 2019 at 07:57 IST

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