VB Express to get nose job to ‘save face’ over cattle collision

CHENNAI: The Integral Coach Factory (ICF), the premier coach manufacturing unit that produces the semi-high speed Vande Bharat train, is considering a minor redesign of the face of the pilot coach to address the issue of the stray cattle menace ‘disrupting’ operations.

Like in conventional trains, the Vande Bharat trains also have cattle shields in place. The only difference is that the cattle shields are concealed using a fibre body for aesthetic and aerodynamic reasons.

The nose cones covering the cattle shield is a three-piece set that can absorb the impact of collision with stray cattle. Whenever such a collision happens, the nose cone shatters and is replaced during routine maintenance at designated VB maintenance facilities.

“Though the shattering of the nose cone doesn’t affect the train’s operation much, it has become a talking point owing to media glare. Also, to make repair easy in the event of damage, we are working on converting the concealing segment into a two-piece unit that could be easily replaced locally whenever the nose cone breaks. We are working on the design which wouldn’t affect the look of the train,” a senior official told DT Next.

Meanwhile, the Southern Railway has fast tracked infrastructure upgrade at Tirunelveli station to advance the launch of the Chennai – Tirunelveli Vande Bharat service to possibly by the end of this month or August.

The zonal railway had originally planned to run the next VB service on the Chennai – Tirupati or Chennai – Vijayawada sector. However, Chennai – Tirunelveli route is understood to have been prioritised now.

Unconfirmed reports said SR has tentatively planned to cover Chennai – Nellai journey in a little over eight hours, about two hours less than the existing express trains. Going by the tentative schedule, the train would leave Tirunelveli at 6 am and reach Chennai around 2 pm, while the train on the opposite route would leave at 3 pm and reach Tirunelveli at 11.15 pm.