On 1st commercial run, Vande Bharat reaches Varanasi 1 hr 25 minutes late

India’s first semi high-speed train, Vande Bharat Express, arrived in Varanasi on its first commercial run from New Delhi an hour and 25 minutes behind schedule because of fog on Sunday, a railway official said.

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

On Sunday, 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.

A railway official, who did not wish to be named, said the train was delayed somewhere between New Delhi and Kanpur.

Varanasi cantonment station director Anand Mohan said it was a very smooth run. “The train is equipped with the best of facilities. Passengers enjoyed the journey. They expressed happiness on arrival at the station.”

The passengers, who arrived in Varanasi, lauded facilities on the train but suggested an improvement in the quality of food served.

S C Vats, a Delhi resident, said, “This train is a new beginning in the history of the Indian Railways. It has good facilities. Chairs are good. But there is a need to improve in the quality of food.”

Separately, railway minister Piyush Goyal referred to Rahul Gandhi’s tweet a day earlier over the train’s breakdown and said the Congress chief had insulted India’s intelligence and hard work by mocking Make in India.

“He insulted the hardworking engineers of Railways who have put in backbreaking effort to build India’s first indige- nous semi-high speed train, the Vande Bharat Express,” Goyal tweeted.

Gandhi had said Make in India needs a serious rethink.

“Most people feel it has failed. I assure you we in the Congress are thinking very deeply about how it will be done,’’ Gandhi had tweeted with reference to the train’s breakdown.- Hindustan Times