A day after flag-off, Train 18 breaks down mid-journey

 New Delhi : On Friday morning, India's first engine-less train Vande Bharat Express formerly known as Train 18 started its journey from New Delhi railway station on its inaugural journey to Varanasi, a testament to the government's 'Make in India' initiative.

Flag-off was done by PM Modi soon after after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which he chaired. The meeting was conducted in light of the barbaric terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that rocked the country on February 14. The launch event took place without any flower decorations. Although shadowed by Pulwama terror attack sadness, in the atmosphere was sense of excitement and pride for the train made in India. 

 A day after Vande Bharat Express was flagged off, the indigenous train broke down while returning from Varanasi early on Saturday morning. The train was heading back to Delhi from Varanasi for its first commercial run. Four coaches of the train experienced electrical outage and the breaks were jammed due to engine failure. Operations resumed at 8:15 am after the technical snag was fixed.

The railways stated the disruption was caused probably because of a cattle run over by the train. The commercial operations of Vande Bharat Express will start from Sunday, February 17.

The train's first halt was at Kanpur Central Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh. At the station, the train was welcomed by a huge crowd amid chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram'.