Vande Bharat travels 463 km with faulty brakes despite pilots’ warning
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New Delhi: Indian Railways faces scrutiny after a Vande Bharat trainset travelled 463 kilometres with its coach brakes disconnected, despite locomotive pilots warning officials about inadequate braking, according to reports.
The October 24 incident, during a transfer from Jharkhand to Uttar Pradesh, has prompted a high-level inquiry by South Eastern Railway.
The chair-car rake was being hauled from Hatia to Jhansi using a goods locomotive. Soon after departure, the pilot detected low brake power and submitted written complaints to the section and traction loco controllers at Ranchi. However, officials allowed the train to continue without fixing the fault.
A second pilot, who took charge at Muri, also alerted controllers that the brakes were not functioning. The failure was addressed only after the train reached Deen Dayal Upadhyaya station in Uttar Pradesh’s Chandauli district.
An inspection found that the braking systems of all Vande Bharat coaches had been disconnected. The 463-km journey had been completed using only the goods locomotive’s brakes and regenerative braking, leaving the coaches’ own brakes ineffective and posing a potential danger to other trains.
A South Eastern Railway order issued on November 7 identified lapses by coach and wagon staff, controllers and crew members. Staff failed to verify the coach brakes before departure, while the crew did not physically check whether they were engaging.
The zone has directed the Ranchi divisional railway manager to investigate, identify those responsible and recommend disciplinary action. It has also called for safeguards to prevent a recurrence, amid concerns about railway safety following a separate train derailment in Assam on November 11, which has raised further questions.