A stone-pelting incident damaged a window of the Sabarmati-Veraval Vande Bharat Express in Gujarat's Amreli district on Diwali morning, shattering both its inner and outer glass panes. The incident took place while the train was travelling through a largely rural stretch between Khijadiya and Chital railway stations.
Railway officials said the impact was unusually severe because of the angle at which the stone struck the window and the train's speed. Vande Bharat coaches are fitted with double-layered toughened glass, but the projectile managed to penetrate both layers. The affected window was in the E2 coach, near seats 9 and 10. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has launched an investigation to establish the exact location and circumstances of the incident.
Third stone-pelting incident involving Vande Bharat in Gujarat in four months
The Diwali morning incident marks the third reported stone-pelting attack on a Vande Bharat Express in Gujarat in the last four months. The two earlier incidents took place in August and October on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Vande Bharat Express, operating under train numbers 22961/22962, in Surat district.
A local police officer said Sunday's incident was reported near Lathi, around 13 kilometres from Khijadiya railway station. Ajay Sharma, Divisional Security Commissioner of the Western Railway's Bhavnagar Division, confirmed that the Sabarmati-Veraval Vande Bharat Express (26901/26902) was affected while travelling through Amreli towards its next stop at Dhola. Sharma said railway teams were inspecting the area to determine the precise time and location of the incident. Explaining how the stone managed to break both glass panes, he said the impact was influenced by the projectile's angle and the speed of the moving train.
