- New fencing nearly eliminates Vande Bharat cattle collisions.
- 900 km fenced; expansion underway.
- Akhilesh Yadav questions repeated Etawah incidents.
New Delhi: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that the number of cattle run-over incidents involving the Vande Bharat Express trains has dropped significantly. He stated that routes with newly designed fencing have reported almost zero such cases.
The minister was responding to a question raised by Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Awadhesh Prasad. SP president Akhilesh Yadav also took a jab at the minister over the issue.
Vaishnaw explained that cattle entering railway tracks is a major problem due to at-grade crossings in India. To prevent this, the Railways have started installing a new type of fencing along railway tracks. So far, 900 km of fencing has been completed. The minister assured that the Railways is working on expanding the fencing to other routes as well.
During the discussion, Prasad thanked the minister for launching the Vande Bharat Express service between Ayodhya and Lucknow. However, he raised concerns about multiple incidents of cattle being hit by the train. Yadav interrupted him, demanding details on how many such accidents had taken place. He also questioned why the issue was recurring in Etawah.
Vaishnaw responded that safety was a priority, and the Railways were taking necessary steps to address the problem. He dismissed Yadav’s comments, stating that the discussion should remain focused on solutions rather than political remarks.
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