Vande Bharat Express attacked again in Visakhapatnam, departure delayed

The Vande Bharat Express, scheduled to leave Visakhapatnam (Vizag) on Thursday, April 6 at 5.45 am, was delayed by four hours and was rescheduled to depart at 9.45 am due to damage caused by stone pelting by miscreants. The high-speed train has been attacked thrice since it began operations between the two Telugu states — Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. 

The Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express train, which was initially set to depart Secunderabad at 3 pm on April 6, was rescheduled to depart at 7 pm as a result of this delay. 

On Friday, April 7 too, the train was rescheduled to leave at 9 am from Vizag instead of its scheduled departure at 5.45 am due to the late running of its pairing train.

According to media reports, the window pane of the C8 coach was broken due to stone pelting by miscreants on Wednesday. The Secunderabad-bound train was reportedly going for maintenance from Vizag station to the coach complex in Kancharapalem when the incident occurred. The train departed from Visakhapatnam after repair works were completed. The train was scheduled to depart at 5.45 am from Visakhapatnam station to Secunderabad on Thursday. 

The train has already experienced two prior attacks within the last three months. Unidentified persons damaged the glass window of a coach by pelting stones in Kancharapalem's coach compound even before it began its operation on January 1, 2023. Three people were reportedly taken into custody in connection with the incident. 

A month later, in February, the incident repeated on the train at Khammam as it was travelling from Secunderabad to Visakhapatnam. Unidentified individuals threw stones at the moving superfast train, breaking two of its window panes.