Vande Bharat Express Late by 1 Hour 25 Min in Maiden Commercial Run to Varanasi

New Delhi: India’s first semi high-speed train, Vande Bharat Express, on its first commercial run, arrived in Varanasi an hour and 25 minutes behind schedule due to fog on Sunday.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, a railway official revealed the train was delayed somewhere between New Delhi and Kanpur.

Due to foggy conditions, the train reached the Varanasi Cantonment station at 3.25 pm instead of its scheduled arrival at 2pm. It left for New Delhi at 4.25 pm on its return commercial journey.

The passengers on board, lauded facilities on the train but, at the same time, suggested improvements in the quality of food served, the report said.

The delay took place a day after the train broke down on its way back to the capital from Varanasi following its inaugural non-commercial journey.

In a detailed press release issued on Saturday night, railways said during the transportation back from Varanasi it was stopped at Chamraula station of National Capital Region, about 18 km after crossing Tundla station.

"There was an issue of communication between the last basic unit of 4 coaches and the rest of the train probably due to some external hit. Thereafter, safety features in the train applied brakes. The train was checked for faults and moved to Delhi," it said.

Train 18, which was recently rechristened Vande Bharat Express, had left Varanasi Junction for Delhi at 10:30 pm Friday, nearly 45 minutes after reaching the holy city on its inaugural journey.

The first breakdown occurred around 15 km from Tundla junction in Uttar Pradesh early morning.

"It was a case of skidding wheels after the train ran over cattle," Northern Railway CPRO Deepak Kumar had said in the morning.

According to sources, including several journalists on board the train, it was stuck near Tundla for over an hour.

They said before the train came to a halt, its end coaches started making a rattling sound.

"There was some smell in the last four coaches which had no power. Also some smoke was noticed. Loco pilots decreased the speed for some time. I heard the officials talking about brake malfunction," a source on the train said.