We asked popular AIs if there was any incident of metro bearing pads falling in any country. Here's what they replied

TBS Report

27 October, 2025, 02:40 pm

Last modified: 27 October, 2025, 10:54 pm

We asked popular AIs if there was any incident of metro bearing pads falling in any country. Here's what they replied

TBS Report

27 October, 2025, 02:40 pm

Last modified: 27 October, 2025, 10:54 pm

A stylized illustration of a brain formed by circuit board lines with the letters 'AI' at its center, set against a blue background with faint business icons.

A graphic illustration represents Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Representational image. Illustration: AP

After the tragic incident on 26 October 2025, when a bearing pad from Dhaka Metro Rail's elevated viaduct fell near Farmgate and killed one person, questions began circulating: Has anything like this ever happened elsewhere?

A graphic summarizing the response from Google's Gemini AI, highlighting that metro load-bearing pad failures are 'exceedingly rare' and have only been recorded in Dhaka.

A slide detailing two bearing pad incidents on the Dhaka Metro Rail in 2024 and 2025 as reported by an AI, with one resulting in a fatality.

A composite image showing that multiple AIs (ChatGPT, Claude, Grok) provided the same information, identifying Bangladesh as the only country with such incidents.

Why bearing pads are unsung heroes of metro systems

A graphic explaining that an AI query about India found no operational metro pad failures but did report on structural collapses during the construction phase.

A summary slide listing two construction-related accidents on the Delhi Metro in 2009 and Mumbai Metro in 2012, noting they were not bearing pad failures on active lines.

We also found no results in Google searches.

A close-up photo of a heavy-duty metro load-bearing pad, with text highlighting that the two failures of such pads in Dhaka are a globally unique phenomenon.

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