10 incidents of stone pelting on Vande Bharat Express in 2023, and we are just in June

We're just halfway through the year, and the Vande Bharat Express has already seen 10 stone-pelting incidents across the country. On Sunday, stones were thrown at the Delhi-Dehradun Vande Bharat Express near Muzzafarnagar station in Uttar Pradesh, causing a ruckus. 

The latest incident is the 10th since January 2023.

What

This new Vande Bharat train was inaugurated on May 25, and is India's 18th. Stones were pelted at the E1 coach around 7 pm on Sunday.

Vande Bharat trains have seen 10 incidents of stone pelting since January 2023, all over the country.

Take a look at the incidents this year:

1. Kerala, May 9: The Kasaragod-Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Express was passing through Valapattanam in the Kannur district in Kerala, when stones were pelted at it. In Kerala itself, this incident marked the second such in a mere six-day span.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off Kerala's first Vande Bharat train from the state capital on April 25.

2. Kerala, May 2: The same train was passing through the Tirur railway station in Malappuram disctrict on May 2 when stones were pelted at it. The window pane of seats 63 and 64 of the C-coach was damaged.

3. Andhra Pradesh, April 6: The Vishakhapatnam-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express was scheduled for 5.45 am, but had to be rescheduled for 9.45 am due to a stone-pelting incident at the Visakhapatnam station itself.

4. West Bengal, March 12: The Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express saw some stone-pelting, with window panes on one of the coaches being damaged. This incident occurred in Farakka in the Murshidabad district in West Bengal. This particular train has seen three stone-pelting incidents since it was flagged off on December 30 last year.  

5. Karnataka, February 25: Between Krishnarajapuram and Bengaluru Cantonment Railway Stations, the Mysuru-Chennai Vande Bharat Express saw two of its windows vandalised when unidentified individuals hurled stones at the train.

According to Southwest Railways, a total of 21 stone pelting cases were reported in January; and February saw another 13 cases in the Bengaluru division.

6. Chattisgarh, February 6:  A Vande Bharat Express train running from Nagpur to Bilaspur was pelted with stones in Chhattisgarh's Dadhapara. With nine windows of five coches reported to be damaged, several miscreants hurled stones at the Vande Bharat train as it was passing from Dadhapara in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur.

7. Andhra Pradesh, February 4: During the journey from Secunderabad to Visakhapatnam, a stone-pelting incident was reported between the Khammam and Vijayawada railway stations. Window glass was damaged with no injuries reported.

8. Bihar, January 20: The New Jalpaiguri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express train was targetted in a stone-pelting incident in Katihar, Bihar. As the 22302 Down Vande Bharat Express was crossing the Dalkhola-Telta railway station, passengers on berth number 70 in Coach 6 alerted the escort party about a stone-pelting incident. No injuries were reported but the windowpane of C-6 coach was shattered due to the pelting. 

9. Andhra Pradesh, January 11: Before its inauguration by PM Modi on January 19, stones were pelted at this Vande Bharat Express while the train was en route from Visakhapatnam railway station to the coach maintenance centre at Marripalem, following the completion of its trial run. As a result of the incident, two glass panes in one of the coaches were damaged.

10. West Bengal, January 3: The Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express encountered another incident where stones were hurled at the train. This occurred when the train was approaching the NJP yard. Window panes of coaches C-3 and C-6 of the train were damaged. 

In all these incidents, no injuries were reported.

On June 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil five new Vande Bharat Express trains simultaneously. 

The first Vande Bharat Express was flagged off on February 15, 2019, on the New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route.