Two loco pilots reported poor braking on an empty Vande Bharat rake, but it was allowed to continue from Hatia in Jharkhand to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya station in Uttar Pradesh, where an inspection found that the brakes on every coach had been isolated. The rake covered about 463 km relying solely on the freight locomotive’s brakes and regenerative braking, according to a South Eastern Railway (SER) order.

The October 24 movement posed a potential risk to other passenger trains. In its November 7 order, the zone directed the divisional railway manager of Ranchi to investigate the incident.

"Running a train without adequate brake power is a serious safety concern that may lead to a major accident, endangering the lives of staff and passengers and affecting the safety of railway operations," the railway zone said.

Instructions were issued on October 24 for a freight locomotive to haul the empty chair car rake from Hatia to Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. Officials said staff were supposed to integrate the rake’s braking system with that of the locomotive for the entire journey. Staff failed to do so properly and took no action when the crew raised the problem, the order said.

"As per the statement of the loco pilot, the brake feel and brake power test was conducted after departure from HTE (Hatia) in the HTE-RNC (Hatia-Ranchi) section, in accordance with the existing instructions in force," the order said.

It added, "However, during the test, the LP found that the brake power of the train was very poor and ineffective."

At Ranchi station, the loco pilot submitted a written complaint about the poor brake power to the section controller and the traction loco controller.

"The train was permitted to proceed in the same condition despite the reported poor brake power," the order noted.

A second loco pilot, who took over at Muri station, also alerted the controllers. He reported that lowering brake pipe pressure failed to apply the brakes. Staff acted on the warnings at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya station in Uttar Pradesh’s Chandauli district, where officials found that the isolation of the braking systems had prevented the brakes on all coaches from engaging.

The preliminary probe identified lapses by coach and wagon maintenance staff, section and traction controllers at the stations concerned, and the crew who operated the rake from Hatia to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya station. Maintenance staff had failed to physically check whether the brakes worked before allowing the rake to leave. The crew, who were unfamiliar with the Vande Bharat braking system, also failed to check whether the brakes were engaging on the coaches.

"From the above, it is evident that there were multiple failures on the part of various staff, resulting in the train being worked without effective train brakes," the order added.

"In view of the above, it is requested that the matter should be investigated in detail to ascertain the lapses on the part of the staff concerned. Necessary corrective and preventive measures may also be taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future," the order concluded.

The incident preceded the November 11 derailment of the Kolkata-Sairang Express in Assam.