Vande Bharat Express hits cow, a day after it rammed into a herd of buffaloes

There was only a dent in the train's front bumper and it had to be halted for 10 minutes, officials said.

Semi-high speed train Vande Bharat on Thursday met with an accident after a herd of buffaloes came on track in Gujarat, days after the train was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to the Railways, the accident occurred around 11.15 am between Vatva station and Maninagar, after a herd of buffaloes crossed the railway tracks.

Western Railway Senior PRO JK Jayant said the front part of the engine was damaged in the collision.

PM Modi flagged off the Gandhinagar-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express semi-high-speed train last month and travelled on it from Gandhinagar to Kalupur railway station in Ahmedabad. 

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said such collisions with cattle are unavoidable and "this has been kept in mind while designing the train".

"Its nose on the front is totally replaceable," the minister said earlier today.

The latest collision occurred around 4 pm near the town of Anand, about 100 kilometres from Gandhinagar and over 400 km from Mumbai.

"The train's front portion has suffered a small dent," Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer of Western Railway, said, adding that all the passengers were safe.

The train achieves 160 km per hour speed in little over two minutes, and has better riding comfort than other trains, according to the railways.