Fact Check: This image of a loco pilot holding an umbrella is not from Kerala’s first Vande Bharat Express

The first Vande Bharat Express, the Kasargod-Thiruvananthapuram Express in Kerala was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 25.

Following there the train was in the news with some reports stating that there was water leakage in it, while it was parked at Kannur.

This lead to a barrage of messages on the social media which were shared with an image of a loco pilot sitting inside the train with an open umbrella in his hand. It was alleged this was the loco pilot of Kerala's inaugural Vande Bharat train. He was protecting himself from the leaking water while making the inaugural journey of the train, it was also said.

"Dear Narendra Modi please stop making things. Clearly you are utterly incapable to make anything right. 'VANDE BHARAT' on the 1st day of inauguration rainwater started leaking from the roof of VB in Kerala. A picture is worth a thousand words," read one tweet.

A reverse image search of the viral photo took us to a post tweeted by journalist, Sucheta Dalal on August 9 2017. The video featured the same loco pilot sitting with an umbrella covering his head. Dalal had tagged then railway minister, Suresh Prabhat and written, 'railway safety? Suresh Prabhu and Rail Minister India need to take a serious look without victimising the whistleblower.'

In the video the assistant of the loco pilot can be heard complaining about the poor working conditions. He also appeals to the viewers to share the video widely.

The first ever Vande Bharat Express which was known as Train 18 was launched by PM Modi on February 15 2019. Hence it makes it clear that the video that has now gone viral is from 2017 and not the recent launch at Kerala.

We also found a post in The Indian Express with the headline, 'Train driver holds umbrella to save control panel from leaky roof, video goes viral.' The report also featured the same video and image.

A video of the same incident was also uploaded on YouTube and you can see the same below.

The video was shot at the Bermo Railway station, which is in the Bokaro district of Jharkhand. It falls under the Dhanbad railway division of the East-Central Railway zone.

The Railway Ministry had responded to the viral video and said that the engine was dead and was being pulled by another engine in front as seen in the video.

When we checked as to what exactly had happened to the Vande Bharat Express, we found news reports that there were heavy rains on the inaugural day. The reports said that the leak was found through the AC vent.

Hence it is clear that the video of the loco-pilot holding an umbrella inside the train is old and not from Kerala.