In a major operational embarrassment for Indian Railways, the Sabarmati–Gurgaon Vande Bharat special (09401), operated by Western Railway late Sunday evening, clocked the longest-ever journey for the premium train—nearly 1,400 km in 28 hours—but for all the wrong reasons.

For now, this incident stands as a case study in how small lapses in planning can derail the promise of India’s flagship semi-high-speed train. Originally, the semi-high-speed train was scheduled to cover the 898 km Sabarmati–Ajmer–Jaipur–Gurgaon route in about 15 hours. However, shortly after departure, the train was stranded near Mehsana when officials discovered that the rake allotted lacked a high-reach pantograph, which is mandatory for the high-rise overhead equipment (OHE) sections on that stretch. This was essentially a case of the wrong train being deployed on the wrong route.

On Indian Railways, especially in the Western Railway zone (WR), freight corridors carry double-stack container trains that require extra vertical clearance. Standard overhead wires (OHE), generally about 5.5 meters above rail level, are too low for such tall trains. To accommodate this, high-rise OHE is installed where the contact wire height is raised up to 7.45 meters instead of the usual 5.5 meters. This modification allows double-stack container movement under electric traction without the risk of touching the wires.

The Vande Bharat train, which departed Sabarmati around 6 pm, has since been crawling across western and northern India, leaving passengers weary and frustrated. According to a senior railway official who spoke off the record, this was a basic technical mismatch that should have been identified before deployment. Running a Vande Bharat on a high-rise OHE section without a high-reach pantograph was never feasible.

This unintended diversion has created history—no Vande Bharat rake has ever operated such a long distance in a single run. However, behind this record lies significant passenger inconvenience, operational chaos, and pressing questions of accountability. Despite the massive disruption, no action has yet been announced against any officials responsible for the oversight.

Meanwhile, passengers bore the brunt of a journey nearly twice as long as advertised, fundamentally undermining the very premise of the Vande Bharat as a fast, efficient alternative.
https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/sabarmati-gurgaon-vande-bharat-train-operated-by-western-railway-runs-1400-km-in-operational-blunder-23597496