Traveling to Kolkata by 28896 Puri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express, I had a harrowing experience. The train is two days old. The train was cruising at its normal speed of 128 kmph. When the train was around 40 km ahead of Bhadrak, rain started.
There was a hailstorm. Sitting in the C-14 coach, it was difficult to understand what was happening outside but around 4.40 pm a huge tree fell on the windscreen of the engine which broke into fragments. It also resulted in the power supply being disrupted. The air-conditioning stopped working, bio toilets started malfunctioning and life turned miserable in a few minutes.
There were around 1,200 passengers and 100 railway staff inside the train. Around 5.45, maintenance engines came from Bhadrak to find out how to get the train going again.
South Eastern Railway CPRO confirmed the incident and assured South Eastern Railway in consultation with East Coast Railway, trying to attach a high speed engine to tow the train to the destination. Finally, after four hours, the train again started on its onward journey.