Jaipur: A major disaster was averted in Rajasthan after the Ahmedabad-Jodhpur Vande Bharat Express hit a cement slab kept on the track in the Pali district last week, police said.
The alleged sabotage of the semi-high-speed train was thwarted on August 23 after the Vande Bharat Express train’s camera fitted beneath the engine spotted the cement slab after which the train was stopped but it had damaged its cattle guard portion by then.
No injuries were reported in the incident, police added.
The train was halted for eight minutes following the incident and then continued on its journey. A case in connection with the sabotage has been registered against unknown miscreants based on a complaint filed by the Railway’s senior section engineer at the Sumerpur police station.
“The incident took place between Jawai and Biroliya under the jurisdiction of Sumerpur police station on Friday night. According to ASI Shyam Singh, a case has been registered against an unidentified individual. He also mentioned that pieces of cement slabs, typically used for constructing footpaths, were discovered on the track.”
The Ahmedabad-Jodhpur Vande Bharat Express operates six days a week, except Tuesdays, departing from Sabarmati Station at 4:45 pm and arriving in Jodhpur at 10:50 pm.
The Vande Bharat Express trains have been subject to multiple sabotage attempts and stone pelting in the recent past. In October last year, a serious incident was narrowly avoided by the locomotive pilots of the Udaipur-Jaipur Vande Bharat Express.
They quickly applied emergency brakes after noticing stones and rods on the tracks. According to a Rajasthan Police officer, the stones and rods had been placed on the tracks by two children while they were playing.