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India high speed train breaks down on first trip

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Adlington

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BBC reports:
India's fastest train has broken down on its first trip, a day after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi. The Indian-built semi high-speed Vande Bharat Express was returning to the capital Delhi from the city of Varanasi after its first outing when brakes in a carriage reportedly jammed.

Indian media quoted a railways spokesperson as saying the train may have struck cattle on the line
The Hindustani Times has more details:
Indian Railways flagship semi-high speed train, the Vande Bharat Express, broke down early on Saturday morning, a day after it was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The engine-less Train 18 was on its way back from Varanasi after its first run. The breakdown happened near Tundla, around 200 km from Delhi, in what the railways are claiming to be a possible cattle hit. The train was returning from Varanasi at night and it was not a scheduled commercial run.

Due to one of the cattle coming under the train’s wheel, the communication system of the last coach broke down affecting the train’s control management system which stopped working.

The coach was isolated and the train resumed its journey at 8.15am.
I assume "engine-less train 18" means an EMU, which is something new for long-distance trains in India. And Varanasi is better knows as Benares.
 
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SamYeager

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Misery loves company. I don't feel quite so bad about the problems the GWR 800 had on its first trip. BBC mentioned that the brakes had come on in one of the carriages. Apparently there were no signs of damage so the story about a cattle hit is probably incorrect.
 

gazthomas

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Semi high speed? Paff! It's amazing how behindthe times India's railway is, when you compare it for example to the progress made in China Iver the last 20 years
 

Adlington

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Not really a news in the railway world.
Contrariwise.... This kind of news has extensive coverage at least in a small part of the railway world, called railforums.co.uk.
Some examples, from various recent threads:
  • Just left the station now and saw an empty London northwestern service on platform 1 blocking the line towards London.
  • I heard from a (non rail-enthusiast) acquaintance just now that trains were all heavily disrupted last night due to a power loss around Cambridge
  • Currently at Newport waiting for the next train to Cardiff. Apparently there's been an operational incident near Hereford
  • rail service between Truro & Falmouth Docks as been suspended for the rest of the day due to a train derailment at Penryn
So a brand-new Indian train breaking down a day after the official inauguration deserves a mention, whether a cow has been involved or not....
 

axlecounter

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Fair enough. It just seemed to me that kind of today’s non-news where a completely normal thing (in a railway context) happened with none or negligible consequences but it still hits the news for some reason.
 

Calthrop

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Maybe international news-appeal bestowed, by the circumstance that -- reprehensibly, but it's so -- India (and her neighbours) tend to trigger ridicule, often of an affectionate sort, among many Westerners. A thing happening in India, is seen as likely to turn out to be a foul-up: the country's pioneer quasi-HST having trouble on its initial run, is just the kind of thing which many would expect. And the "cattle" factor -- with the well-known Hindu sentiments concerning bovine-kind -- must have made this story irresistible as a news "filler".
 

Groningen

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What is high speed in India? And still people able to cross the tracks?
 

Brown

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Maybe international news-appeal bestowed, by the circumstance that -- reprehensibly, but it's so -- India (and her neighbours) tend to trigger ridicule, often of an affectionate sort, among many Westerners. A thing happening in India, is seen as likely to turn out to be a foul-up: the country's pioneer quasi-HST having trouble on its initial run, is just the kind of thing which many would expect. And the "cattle" factor -- with the well-known Hindu sentiments concerning bovine-kind -- must have made this story irresistible as a news "filler".

Completely irrelevant comment. Similar to Belfast troubles then? Or Celtic vs rangers in scotland?
 

Calthrop

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Completely irrelevant comment. Similar to Belfast troubles then? Or Celtic vs rangers in scotland?

My favourite kinds of comment to make, tend to be completely irrelevant ones. Sorry to have pee'd you off.
 

Brown

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My favourite kinds of comment to make, tend to be completely irrelevant ones. Sorry to have pee'd you off.

Oh yeah... definitely as the return gifts are always good... im sure thats spicy for you!!!
 
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