India’s 16th Vande Bharat Express train, between Kasargod and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, was inaugurated by PM Modi on April 25, 2023. Just before its Inauguration, a small water leak through the AC vents was reported in one of the coaches, which was later fixed by the technical experts.
Against this backdrop, a viral picture claiming to show the driver of the same Vande Bharat train operating the engine with an umbrella over his head is widely shared on social media. Many users have shared the picture criticising Modi for inaugurating a faulty train.
A Facebook user posted the viral post with a caption: “A new technology in “VANDE BHARAT” under the leadership of Honourable PM Mudi. On the 1st day of inauguration, rainwater falls inside the train from the roof. Means even if you are inside the train, you can enjoy outside nature.”
You can check the post here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the viral post, and found it to be false.
Running a Reverse Image Search of the image, we identified a tweet by journalist Sucheta Dalal on August 9, 2017. The tweet features a video showing a similar setting of a leaking train and the pilot operating with an umbrella overhead.
Although the tweet doesn’t tell the exact location or the name of the train, the date of posting makes it clear that the video has been online since August 2019. Thus, the viral picture cannot be related to the newly inaugurated Vande Bharat Express.
We also came across a news article in India Times, dated August 11, 2017, with a title: Train driver holds an umbrella over the control panel to save it from leaking roof. The picture in the article matches with the viral image, informing that the incident happened near Dhanbad in Jharkhand.
We found a similar article in the Indian Express as well.
Therefore, we can conclusively say that the viral post’s claim is false.
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