Bengaluru: Hundreds of Kerala-bound passengers who reached KSR Bengaluru and KR Pura railway stations Sunday morning were left disappointed after a “hot axle” was detected in their Vande Bharat train.The newly augmented KSR Bengaluru-Ernakulam Jn Vande Bharat Express had been fully booked ahead of Onam. After officials reported a hot axle, the train’s departure, scheduled at 5:10am, had to be postponed.A hot axle occurs when an axle in a coach overheats due to friction, poor lubrication, mechanical failure, or dragging brakes. If unaddressed, hot axles can lead to serious incidents such as seized bearings, train derailments, breakdowns and structural fires.Several passengers received this communication only an hour before their journey. Scores of passengers were seen waiting at KR Pura station. Around 5:30am, the passengers were informed that the train would depart at 8:45am. However, the revised timing had to be changed further towards 11:10am. The train finally departed KSR station at 11:45 am.Due to the delay, railway staff served passengers onboard meals on the platform.Nayana NR, a passenger said: “The KR Puram station was very crowded, there were no proper waiting rooms or good restaurants. It was a six hour wait. A lot of people were even waiting with their kids. It caused huge inconvenience to us.”
