Railway orders replacement of non-standard diamond crossings after Vande Bharat derails

The Central Railways on Tuesday said immediate instructions have been issued to either remove or replace non-standard diamond crossings across the railway network in the wake of the derailment of a Vande Bharat Express.

A coach of CSMT-Solapur Vande Bharat Express derailed while navigating a complex diamond crossing at the entrance of the Pune station Monday evening. No casualties were reported in the incident.

This is the first derailment involving a Vande Bharat Express since its introduction in 2019, marking a rare setback for the flagship service.

“As Train No. 22225 was pulling into the Pune station platform, a trolley of the fourth coach slipped off the tracks at around 7.30 pm on Monday. Passengers reported a sudden jolt followed by an immediate halt. A separate rake (train set) was arranged to transport passengers to Solapur. Officials guided passengers from the stranded coach to the new rake to ensure the journey could continue with minimal friction,” an official said.

“Immediate instructions have been issued to remove/replace the concerned diamond crossing. Similar non-standard diamond crossings across the Indian Railways are also being replaced,” he added.

Diamond crossing is a specific track geometry where two rail lines intersect at an angle, forming a diamond shape.

The derailment has served as a wake-up call for railway infrastructure safety.

The Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of Central Railways confirmed that while the Pune crossing was already slated for an upgrade under the yard remodelling plan, the timeline has now been accelerated.

Railway authorities have prioritised replacing Pune’s diamond crossing and ordered a nationwide identification and replacement of non-standard crossings. These crossings are known for high maintenance needs and speed restrictions, making them prone to incidents. The yard remodelling at Pune station will now be accelerated to prevent similar failures in the future.

While no injuries occurred, the event underscores vulnerabilities in legacy infrastructure when paired with modern high-speed trains. The derailment serves as a case study in balancing speed, safety, and infrastructure readiness.

Vande Bharat Express is a medium to long-distance semi-high speed express train service operated by the Indian Railways. It is a reserved, air-conditioned chair car service connecting cities that are less than 800 km (500 mi) apart or take less than ten hours to travel with existing services. The commercial service was officially inaugurated on 15 February 2019.

They were introduced as part of the Make in India initiative by the Indian government, and are designed and manufactured by the state-owned Integral Coach Factory in Chennai.