Vande Bharat train once again runs over a bull in Gujarat's Valsad

• Image Credit: Google

• Dec 2, 2022 | Dhupali Das

The bull died on the spot, and its body was later cleared by a cattle volunteer organization...

Digital Desk: The Vande Bharat Express, which runs between Gandhinagar and Mumbai, once again ran over a bull in Gujarat's Valsad district on Thursday, causing minor damage to the train's nose panel.

The bull died on the spot, and its body was later cleared by a cattle volunteer organization.

The cone-shaped structure on the front side below the driver's cabin was damaged after it hit a bull walking on the tracks at Udvada railway station, said Western Railway. The superfast train, which was on its way from Ahmedabad to Mumbai, was stopped at the nearby Sanjan Railway station, where the technical and maintenance teams fixed the part and checked the entire train. The train resumed its journey after a 20-minute halt, the Railways said.

Railway sources quoted that this was the second incident of cattle being hit by a Vande Bharat Express train in the Valsad district. On October 29, the first incident occurred near Atul Railway Station. There had been other cattle-hit incidents in the Valsad district by other trains this year, where 19 cows and calves were run over on October 10, and five cows were killed by a speeding Rajdhani train on August 25. In June last year, a train ran over 18 cows near Navsari.

Gracious Fernandes, an inspector with the Valsad Railway Protection Force, stated that in all of the cattle-related incidents, no one had come to claim ownership of the animals. "The highways are filled with cattle that are free to roam. Because there are thick bushes next to the tracks, cattle may freely cross them to graze on them. We're looking for cattle owners," Fernandes said.