Agra: Hours after a stone was hurled at Vande Bharat Express breaking its windowpane in Hirangaon area of Firozabad district while heading towards Varanasi, the train ran over a stray bull during its return journey to Delhi on the same day. As a result, the train was delayed by an hour and a half.Around 8 pm on Wednesday, a stray bull came under the train’s wheels between Bharthana and Ekdil stations of Etawah district. According to the railways, around 600 cattle are run over by trains every year on the 770-km stretch between Delhi and Varanasi. Aligarh, Firozabad and Kanpur sections report most of these cases.Gaurav Krishan Bansal, chief public relations officer (CPRO) of North Central Railway zone, said, “Cattle menace on the Delhi-Varanasi route is a major issue, as residents living near the tracks, including villagers and herdsmen, leave their animal around to graze.”“Due to this, train operation gets affected. The local administration and the state government need to look into the matter,” he said.When asked why no fencing has been done along the track to avoid such menace by the railways, the CPRO said, “Fencing of 760-km tracks between Delhi and Varanasi and further to Mughalsarai station is not an easy task. For the work, the track needs to be covered and it will take a long time. However, we have destroyed grasses near the tracks and have increased patrolling at particular sections to avoid such incidents.”

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