Vande Bharat Express Reaches Varanasi One-And-Half Hour Behind Schedule on Maiden Trip

The Vande Bharat Express reached an hour-and-half later than scheduled to Varanasi on its maiden official trip.

New Delhi: India’s first semi-fast train Vande Bharat Express or Train 18, reached Varanasi on its maiden commercial run from New Delhi, an hour and half late due to fog on Sunday, a Hindustan  Times report said.

Incidentally, the delay came a day after the train undertook its prior inaugural trail run and broke down on its way back to New Delhi from Varanasi, also ramming cattle on its way. “It was a case of skidding wheels after the train ran over cattle,” Northern Railway CPRO Deepak Kumar had said.

Reportedly, the Vande Bharat Express reached the Varanasi Cantonment Station at 3:25pm instead of its scheduled arrival at 2 pm, due to foggy conditions on Sunday and it left for New Delhi at 4:25pm on its return commercial journey.

On the sidelines of Train 18’s breakdown on Sunday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted that the ‘Make in India’ project under which the train was flagged off has been a failure.

However, Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal soon hit back saying that ‘Actions speak louder than words’ and tweeted, “Rahul Gandhi has insulted India’s intelligence and hard work by mocking “Make in India”. He insulted the hardworking engineers of Railways who have put in backbreaking effort to build India’s first indigenous semi-high speed train, the Vande Bharat Express.”

In a series of tweets thereafter, Goyal mentioned the incomplete projects under the 10-year UPA regime, highlighting every ‘empty promise’ with an info graphic.

Modern Coach Factory in Raebareli is a live example of how Rahul Gandhi’s Congress makes empty promises, has a poor work ethic and wastes national resources. Here is a link to my Facebook post – https://t.co/FqN5qSHr4P #SuccessOfMakeInIndia pic.twitter.com/VewbXawcYc

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 17, 2019

Whereas Congress promised, we actually delivered on “Make in Raebareli”. MCF Raebareli has created employment opportunities for local youth. Purchase from local units in Raebareli was less than Rs 1 crore in 2013-14; it has now become Rs. 124 cr in 2018-19 #SuccessOfMakeInIndia pic.twitter.com/g7NY5wpBNk

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 17, 2019

Meanwhile, passengers travelling in the Train 18 alias the Vande Bharat Express on Sunday were reported to have given positive feedback on India’s first semi-fast train.