Vande Bharat Express To Become Riot Proof: Stronger Glass Panes, CCTV Cameras To Be Installed To Curb Stone Pelting 

After coming across numerous incidents of stone pelting, efforts are being put in place to ensure that Vande Bharat Express, India’s first semi high speed train, withstands such acts of hooliganism in the future, reports Times of India.

“To protect the the glass panes and the windows of the train, experts at the Integral Coach Factory are experimenting on various methods to come up with new measures to guard the asset” said the public relation officer of North Central Railway (NCR), Amit Malviya.

To provide extra strength to the window panes, resin and vinyl coating is being worked out. Explaining the steps that are about to be taken, Malviya elaborated, “Doing this, there are two advantages. One, the glass would have more strength and even if it undergoes impact of a hit, it would only develop a crack and will not shatter completely.”

The resin coating is also meant to ensure privacy for passengers. With the resin coating, passengers can see outside, but the reverse is not possible.

After serial cases of stone pelting were reported, a dedicated team of the Railway Police Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) was constituted to check such incidents. It was also decided that CCTV cameras needed to be installed on the external side of the train to curb the menace.

After the initial response to the Train-18, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, in his maiden run of the train, said that plans are on to bring in similar trains on 30 more routes. Manufacturing of more trains is underway. Orders to manufacture 100 more such trains are also being put in place.