Vande Bharat speeds up fencing of rail tracks at on Ahmedabad-Mumbai route

The fence installed to prevent cattle from straying onto the tracks

What has been tried for decades is finally being achieved, thanks to the high-speed Vande Bharat Express train. After the train suffered damages during multiple accidents involving cattle, authorities started erecting fences along the track between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

The decision of fencing was taken after Vande Bharat Express train, which was launched on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route on October 1 last year, sustained damage in three accidents within the first nine days.

The broken nose of a Vande Bharat Express after it hit cattle. File pic

"So far, 120 km of metal beam fencing has been erected between Ahmedabad and Mumbai to eliminate incidents of cattle being run over by the train. In addition, 39.307 km of precast boundary wall has also been constructed to prevent encroachment and accidents involving cattle," an official from Western Railway said.

W-beam guardrails are common on expressways and highways to prevent vehicles from crashing out of the road in case of accidents.

Also read: Vande Bharat from Chennai to Coimbatore reaches 22 mins in advance on trial run

"The plan is to fence about 622 km of area along the tracks between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, at a cost of approximately R245.26 crore," an official said. Central Railway officials said they have also worked out a plan for fencing the cattle-prone areas in their zone, although there have been minimal incidents.

According to the national statistics by the Union Ministry of Railways, cattle run-over accidents affected 200 trains in the first nine days of October 2022. This year, so far, 4,000 trains have been affected, data showed.

October 1
Day Vande Bharat train was launched on Ahd-Mum line