Controversies, vigilance probe bring Vande Bharat Express to a standstill

Train 18 - named for the year of its launch -was India's first semi-high speed train

In his Independence Day address this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Vande Bharat Express was a symbol of people’s aspirations in India. “People’s thinking has changed. Earlier, they were happy with merely a plan to set up a railway station. Now people ask, ‘when will Vande Bharat Express come to my area’,” he said. Despite being the prime minister’s pet project — on a par with the Chandrayaan missions — the Vande Bharat trainset, or Train 18, project, is currently on a very bumpy track.
 
In the past six months, two consecutive bulk tenders for propulsion systems