Aboard flagship Vande Bharat: Leaking coach roof soaks passengers; video sparks outrage
A journey aboard India's flagship Vande Bharat Express (22415) turned into a miserable experience for passengers on Monday when the roof of coach C7 began leaking during an eight-hour trip from Varanasi to Delhi, leaving several passengers drenched and fuming. The viral video shows water leaking from the AC duct of the train (Sourced)
A video showing water pouring in through the coach ceiling went viral on social media, sparking widespread criticism of the Indian Railways and prompting a swift internal probe. The video was shared by Darshil Mishra, a final-year physical therapy student and one of the affected passengers, who alleged a lack of response from railway authorities despite repeated complaints.
The Railways has placed V S Galhot, senior section engineer, Varanasi, under suspension for failing to ensure proper drainage during routine maintenance.
'On June 23, water leakage occurred in Coach C-7, 76 of Tr- 22415 (BSB–NDLS VB Exp) due to clogged drip tray holes, causing condensate seepage in the saloon area,' read DRM Lucknow X handle. It added, 'Punitive action has been taken against responsible staff and necessary modifications are underway to prevent recurrence.'
Mishra said the onboard staff, instead of fixing the leak, switched off the AC near the affected berth, worsening the situation as passengers sat drenched in hot, humid conditions. He further claimed that the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel dismissed their concerns with a casual 'adjust kariye' and the Train Ticket Examiner never turned up.
Despite tagging DRM Lucknow division on social media, Darshil said no assistance came. He has now filed a complaint with the consumer forum, seeking a refund.
As criticism continues online, the railways have yet to issue a formal public statement. The incident has raised serious concerns about quality control and passenger safety aboard India's modern trains.
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Hindustan Times
12 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Aboard flagship Vande Bharat: Leaking coach roof soaks passengers; video sparks outrage
A journey aboard India's flagship Vande Bharat Express (22415) turned into a miserable experience for passengers on Monday when the roof of coach C7 began leaking during an eight-hour trip from Varanasi to Delhi, leaving several passengers drenched and fuming. The viral video shows water leaking from the AC duct of the train (Sourced) A video showing water pouring in through the coach ceiling went viral on social media, sparking widespread criticism of the Indian Railways and prompting a swift internal probe. The video was shared by Darshil Mishra, a final-year physical therapy student and one of the affected passengers, who alleged a lack of response from railway authorities despite repeated complaints. The Railways has placed V S Galhot, senior section engineer, Varanasi, under suspension for failing to ensure proper drainage during routine maintenance. 'On June 23, water leakage occurred in Coach C-7, 76 of Tr- 22415 (BSB–NDLS VB Exp) due to clogged drip tray holes, causing condensate seepage in the saloon area,' read DRM Lucknow X handle. It added, 'Punitive action has been taken against responsible staff and necessary modifications are underway to prevent recurrence.' Mishra said the onboard staff, instead of fixing the leak, switched off the AC near the affected berth, worsening the situation as passengers sat drenched in hot, humid conditions. He further claimed that the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel dismissed their concerns with a casual 'adjust kariye' and the Train Ticket Examiner never turned up. Despite tagging DRM Lucknow division on social media, Darshil said no assistance came. He has now filed a complaint with the consumer forum, seeking a refund. As criticism continues online, the railways have yet to issue a formal public statement. The incident has raised serious concerns about quality control and passenger safety aboard India's modern trains.
Indian Express
17 hours ago
- Indian Express
The many wrong turns that led to Bhopal's infamous right-angle bridge
A newly constructed rail overbridge (ROB) in Bhopal, which made headlines for its almost 90-degree turn, has quickly gone from being the subject of memes to the subject of an investigation. And, as an enquiry gets underway to figure out what led to the peculiar construction, officials from the Madhya Pradesh Public Works Department (PWD) and the Indian Railways appear to be shifting blame. The 648-metre bridge in the Aishbagh area, which cost Rs 18 crore to build, was meant to eliminate long delays at railway crossings and shorten the commute for nearly three lakh people daily. KPS Rana, the engineer-in-chief of the PWD, told The Indian Express that the bridge's design was sanctioned in 2018 and was executed by a team originally from the bridge engineering department, comprising officials at the assistant engineer, superintendent engineer, executive engineer, and chief engineer levels. 'We have formed a committee to look into the role of these officials,' he said. Rana emphasised that the General Arrangement Drawing (GAD), a comprehensive layout plan necessary for all ROB projects, was prepared in collaboration with the Indian Railways and supervised within the PWD by the Chief Engineer (Bridges). G P Verma, the Chief Engineer (Bridges), refused to comment on the matter. Rana said the 'final approval' remained within the department of the Chief Engineer (Bridges), and 'the design did not escalate to higher authorities.' 'It was the bridge engineering department which had dealt with the design. The GAD was formulated with the help of railway officials and PWD officers. A private contractor was engaged to execute the work, and they also have a final role to execute the design in the later stages. If there had been better communication, we could have rectified the design or made an underbridge. The railway built its own ROB considering the space crunch,' he said. Rana said the project faced spatial constraints, and the issue of alignment should have been flagged earlier in the GAD formulation phase. 'There was a lack of communication between different departments over this. If we could have got this at the reception stage itself, the Railways could have denied giving approval to the project. Then we could have worked on a redesign,' he said. And so, the departments proceeded with the existing design, and alternatives such as an underground crossing or different alignment were not explored, Rana said. Railways spokesperson Naval Agarwal acknowledged that both departments had coordinated during the design phase and that Railways had raised early concerns about the alignment. 'We had done our job and built our portion of the ROB as per the GAD. We had communicated to the PWD through a letter some time ago on the design flaws. We did our job.' Anupam Awasthi, the Chief Project Manager, declined to comment in detail, stating only that he was not involved when the GAD was prepared and suggesting that any design flaws could have been addressed via a revision proposal at that time. 'If there was an approach problem, then there could have been a revision proposal. That was not done,' he said. The construction contract was awarded to M/s Puneet Chadha, a private firm based in Bhopal. Senior structure engineer Kailash Kushwaha, who worked on-site for two years, supervising a team of 60 people, said the design came directly from the PWD. He said that the bridge was constrained on one side by metro construction and on the other by an electrified railway line, limiting available space. He said they worked with the Chief Engineer (Bridges). 'The PwD had raised these issues of lack of space; it's mainly the railway department's fault that they did not coordinate with us,' Kushwaha alleged. The PWD has constituted a four-member committee, including two chief engineers and an executive engineer, on the orders of PWD Minister Rakesh Singh. This committee will assess the design, evaluate accountability, and recommend corrective measures. The safety measures under consideration include installation of speed breakers at five locations, mirrors for visibility at the 90-degree turn, reflective radium strips, speed limit signage, 20 new streetlights on the bridge, and widening the curve using girders at the triangle base of the ROB.
NDTV
a day ago
- NDTV
Video Showing Water Leakage On Delhi-Bound Vande Bharat Goes Viral, Railways Reacts
Passengers travelling on a Delhi-bound Vande Bharat train were left outraged after the AC stopped working and water began leaking from the roof of the coach. Taking to X, a passenger, identified as Darshil Mishra, shared the ordeal, saying that despite multiple complaints, no action was taken by the railway staff. He called the entire incident "extremely uncomfortable" and also shared videos showing water pouring from a ceiling vent, creating chaos inside the train compartment. "AC not working and water leakage in #VandeBharat train. Extremely uncomfortable journey despite premium fare. Multiple complaints lodged but no action taken. Kindly look into it," Mr Mishra wrote, sharing a video of an empty seat near the compartment gate as the leak left them drenched. — Darshil Mishra (@MishraDarshil) June 23, 2025 In the following post, Mr Mishra demanded a full refund of his ticket, alleging that the staff were irresponsible. "Nothing is happening, all the staffs are irresponsible. Despite of several complaints no action taked, Ac temperature is too high. I want my full refund," he said. As the video started doing rounds on social media, Railway Seva responded, citing "condensate water" to be the root cause of the incident. "A case of water leakage was reported from the return air duct in coach C-7 (seat no. 76) on Train No. 22415 (Varanasi-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express). Root Cause: Condensate water accumulated under the cooling coil of the RMPU due to drain holes of drip tray blocked by Mix media/ Return air filter. The water, during braking, entered the return air duct, causing water to drip into the passenger area," Railway Sena wrote. A case of water leakage was reported from the return air duct in coach C-7 (seat no. 76) on Train No. 22415 (Varanasi–New Delhi Vande Bharat Express). Root Cause: Condensate water accumulated under the cooling coil of the RMPU due to drain holes of drip tray blocked by Mix media/… — RailwaySeva (@RailwaySeva) June 24, 2025 It added that the affected drip tray was thoroughly cleaned at New Delhi station before the train's return journey. A washer was also installed below the filter to create a gap and allow proper drainage. "The coach was undertaken in pre-monsoon drive from 15/05/25 to 27/05/25. All RMPUs of the rake are being checked for provision of washer to create gap between filter and drip tray," officials added. On social media, the incident has sparked outrage online. "Premium level of experience from Premium class train," wrote one user. "This isn't a train journey - it's a disaster in motion. The Delhi-bound Vande Bharat Express, flagged off with grand speeches and billion-rupee pride, has turned into a leaking, freezing, water-logged nightmare," commented another.
