'Crash with cattle unavoidable, Train designed on requirements'

ANAND: Collision with cattle on the tracks is unavoidable and this has been kept in mind while designing the semi-high speed Vande Bharat train, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said here on Friday.

A day before, four buffaloes were killed after being hit by the Gandhinagar Capital-Mumbai Central Vande Bharat Express near Vatva in Ahmedabad. The train's cone nose was damaged and replaced later.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flagged off the train on the route on September 30.

"The train has been designed in such a way and it is so strong that if there is an accident, nothing will happen to the train. Its nose on the front is totally replaceable. As soon as the train reached Mumbai (after the incident on Thursday), it was completely cleaned up and its nose replaced," Vaishnaw said here.

The minister was interacting with the students of an engineering college at Vallabh Vidyanagar.

The train has been designed "very thoughtfully," he said. "In India, the tracks are laid on the ground. Wherever you go, cattle will cross them, one cannot stop them. Unless we elevate the tracks in another 5-6 years, they (cattle) will come in front of the trains," the minister said.

"The trains will run at a speed of 120-130-160 kmph and a collision is inevitable. It is a matter of common sense and design. Therefore, design it in such a way that you can mend it whenever there is such an incident," the Union minister said.

The train has been designed keeping this in mind, he said.

The next version of the Vande Bharat train will run at a speed of 200 kmph, Vaishnaw said. The latest updated version which runs on the Gandhinagar-Mumbai route has a top speed of 160 kmph.

During the interaction with college students, the minister also talked about Modi's experience of the train as he travelled from Gadhinagar to Kalupur railway station in Ahmedabad on the first day.

The air spring of the train absorbs the shock nearly completely and noise is practically non-existent inside, Vaishnaw said.

"Modi travelled for nearly 40 km. Along the route, he was talking to technicians and welders and stood eight or nine times for photos on their request. He did not have to take support even once due to non-existing vibration (when he was standing). Even the noise level is 65 decibels against 80-90 decibels of planes," he said.

These are the features of a "world-class train", the minister added.

The first two Vande Bharat trains (launched first in 2019) have covered 18 lakh kilometres which is equal to nearly 45 times the Earth's periphery without any major problem, he said.