Railways to tighten crackdown on stone pelting incidents

Tirur: The Railways is stepping up measures to track down and punish those involved in stone-pelting incidents against trains, including the Vande Bharat Express. The move comes in response to recurring cases that have damaged coaches and, in some instances, injured passengers.

While the Vande Bharat’s reinforced windows prevent stones from entering the compartments, they often shatter the panes on impact. In the case of other trains, stones have broken through windows, injuring passengers. There have also been instances of stones being hurled at train engines.

Measures in place
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has been using CCTV footage and local inquiries to identify culprits. Offenders are booked under Sections 150, 152, 153, and 154 of the Indian Railways Act, which carry punishments ranging from one to ten years in prison.

On August 30, stones were hurled at the Kannur Intercity Express near Aroor Railway Station, shattering the glass pane in front of the engine. Based on CCTV footage, the RPF apprehended two persons. Earlier, on August 13, a stone hit the Kasaragod–Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat train, damaging the window near seat number 30 of the C7 coach. Investigations are underway to trace the culprits in this incident, which was reported between Tanur and Tirur.

Past incidents
Similar attacks have been reported in the past, too. In April this year, a Kalamassery native on board the Kanyakumari–Bengaluru Express sustained injuries when stones were thrown at the train near Lakkidi railway station. In December 2023, a passenger from Thoothukudi suffered an eye injury in another incident. Last year, a group of school children was caught pelting stones at a Vande Bharat train near Tanur, where a similar incident had also been reported just days earlier. One person was arrested in connection with this incident, too.