Vande Bharat Has Lighter Leading Coach, Faces Safety Concerns

Vande Bharat Express, the flagship train of Indian railways, may be vulnerable to serious accident even in cases of cattle collisions. This pertains to the structural design of the train. The leading coach (driver coach) of the Vande Bharat Express is lighter in comparison to the conventional locomotives (regular trains), which makes it more susceptible to damage at high speeds. 

These revelations came out from a recent railway safety report prepared by the Commission of Railway Safety, Ministry of Civil Aviation. The report has been revealed in the media, first by The Hindu.

As per a senior official’s words published in the media, Vande Bharat has proven to be safe and efficient in India, as the flagship train has travelled 3.5 crore kilometres till now. The high-speed train has proven resilient in Indian conditions.

As the Indian Railway plans to run trains at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour, the report was meant to explore additional safety measures. The railway safety report suggests sturdy fencing installation in patches that come under the high-speed corridors in order to prevent humans and cattle from crossing the tracks. 
The commission also advocates deploying RPF (Railway Protection Force) personnel in vulnerable locations along with the construction of subways so that farmers can safely move their cattle across the tracks.
The places where Vande Bharat coaches are being manufactured currently are ICF (Integral Coach Factory) Chennai, RCF (Railway Coach Factory)  Kapurthala, as well as RCF Raebareli. 

136 Vande Bharat services are operational as of December 2024. Amongst these, 62 were introduced in the year 2024 only. The Railways are planning to run high-speed trains long distances with the introduction of sleeper rakes. 
The safety commission report also highlights the need for RPF and railway officials' joint inspection, along with raising community awareness for the residents near the tracks. 

On the concerns about the train’s design, a former Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer of ICF said that  “the train’s front cone is designed to crumple and absorb impact energy, while the cattle guard is built to deflect obstructions”. According to him, trains like the Vande Bharat are designed with a distributed propulsion instead of a front locomotive. These are at par global standard.