Vande Bharat travels 463 km with faulty brakes after railway staff ignore warnings

An empty Vande Bharat train travelled 463 km from Jharkhand to Uttar Pradesh in October despite its coaches' braking systems being ineffective, after railway staff allegedly ignored repeated warnings from two loco pilots.

The incident took place on 24 October when an empty Vande Bharat chair car rake was being moved from Hatia in Jharkhand to Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh using a freight locomotive. South Eastern Railway (SER) has ordered a probe into the lapses, which officials said posed a potential safety threat to other trains.

According to a 7 November order issued by the railway zone, the braking system of the Vande Bharat rake was supposed to be integrated with that of the freight locomotive pulling it.

However, the integration was not properly ensured. The problem was flagged by the train crew, but the rake was allowed to continue its journey.

The loco pilot conducted a brake feel and brake power test after departing Hatia, as required under existing instructions. During the test, he found that the train's braking power was "very poor and ineffective", the order said.

After reaching Ranchi, the loco pilot submitted a written complaint to the section controller and traction loco controller, reporting the problem. Despite this, the train was permitted to proceed.

Another loco pilot who operated the rake from Muri station also alerted the concerned controllers about the poor braking performance. He specifically reported that the brakes could not be applied by dropping the brake pipe pressure.

Railway staff took action only after the train reached Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) station in Uttar Pradesh's Chandauli district. An inspection there found that the braking systems of all the coaches had been isolated, rendering them ineffective.

The rake had travelled approximately 463 km using only the locomotive's brakes and regenerative braking, without the application of the coaches' braking systems, the order said.

Multiple lapses identified

A preliminary inquiry identified possible negligence by carriage and wagon (C&W) staff, section and traction controllers at the stations concerned, and the train crew who operated the rake between Hatia and DDU.

The C&W staff, responsible for maintaining the train, failed to physically check whether the coaches' brakes were functioning before allowing the rake to depart, the order said.

It also noted that railway controllers failed to act despite receiving complaints about the braking problem.

The train crew, meanwhile, were unfamiliar with the Vande Bharat's braking system and did not physically verify 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 said.

The railway zone has directed the divisional railway manager (DRM) of Ranchi to investigate the lapses and recommend corrective and preventive measures to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

The incident occurred days before the Kolkata-Sairang Express derailed in Assam on 11 November in an incident described in the report as involving similar negligence.

SER warned that operating a train without adequate braking power was a serious safety concern that could lead to a major accident, endangering railway staff and passengers and compromising the safety of train operations.