Fact Check: Viral video of train carrying coal is eight month old
Former Union Minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted a 2-minute long video of a train loaded with coal.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 23 Oct 2021 12:30 PM GMT
Hyderabad: Former Union Minister Prakash Javadekar tweeted a 2-minute long video of a train loaded with coal. He said it is a part of the government's initiative to tackle the looming coal shortage.
This was tweeted against the backdrop of thermal power plants facing a severe coal shortage in India.
"4 km long Rack train with 4 engines being run on war footing basis to supply coal to power plants. This is #Modigovt & @narendramodiji's #NewIndia!" reads the message.
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The same video was also tweeted by Kuldeep Singh Chahal, Delhi BJP General Secretary.
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News18 published a story based on Javadekar's tweet. The article does not mention that the video is recent.
Fact check:
NewsMeter found the claim to be false.
The team could notice that the video's source was credited to the IRTS association. Taking that as a clue, we found that IRTS Association had tweeted the same video on January 6, 2021.
The Indian Railway Traffic Service is a Group A civil service and functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways. IRTS association tweeted the 2.09 video with the caption, "VASUKI, 4 loaded goods train connected for the first time in Korba, Bilaspur Division. Carrying 16000 tonnes of coal equivalent to 500 trucks, it ran from Korba to Bhilai. Commendable job is done by the entire Operations team led by Ravish Kumar Singh #IRTS #IRTSMovingIndia"
Further, the team found a tweet by the Ministry of Railways, A 2.19-minute long video was tweeted on January 6, 2021. "Another feather in its cap: After successful running of 'SHESHNAG' now, Bilaspur Division of SECR operated 'SUPER SHESHNAG'- First ever long haul of 4 loaded trains from Korba with a total load of 20906 tonnes," reads the tweet.
Even the Divisional Railway Manager, Bilaspur Division, South East Central Railway had tweeted on the long haul of four loaded trains from Korba on January 6, 2021.
The fact-checker noticed that in the comment section, many Twitter users pointed out that the video is eight months old.
Hence, the claim is misleading. The video is eight months old and is falsely linked to the recent coal shortage in the country. Vasuki completed the first run of 280 km between Korba to Bhilai, setting a new record for the Railways.
