Hate trains running late? Here's Indian Railways' worst performing division

Though Railways has made an all-out effort to prevent delays by improving the punctuality rate, Mail and Express trains are sometimes running more than 5 to 10 hours behind schedule

Howrah Division in Bengal is the worst performer as far as trains running on time is concerned, with a punctuality performance of only 34 per cent for the week ended June 3. It is closely followed by Lucknow Division with 39 per cent.

Curiously, an above 80 per cent punctuality rate is considered "reasonable" for Indian Railways, one of the largest railway systems in the world. Currently, Indian Railways' overall punctuality rate is about 65 per cent -- not an ideal situation for authorities or passengers.

Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani has said: "At the moment, punctuality rate is 65 per cent and I am not satisfied."

Zone-wise, South East Central's punctuality performance has remained at the bottom at 44 per cent followed by North Central's 47.5 per cent, according to Railways data.

However, Bhavnagar has fared extremely well with 99.27 per cent while Sealdah Division has clocked 98.19 per cent in the week from May 28 to June 3 this year.

Delhi Division's performance is below the 65 per cent mark at 64.64 per cent, while Mumbai Division is even worse at 55.5 per cent for the same period.

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Though Railways has made an all-out effort to prevent delays by improving the punctuality rate, Mail and Express trains are sometimes running more than 5 to 10 hours behind schedule, causing much inconvenience to passengers.

Even premium trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, and Duronto are running late in some sectors due to various reasons, including ongoing track renewal and maintenance, bridge repair and speed restrictions.

"In order to ensure safety, Railways has undertaken a massive track renewal job, replacing old and aged lines in a concerted manner," a senior official involved with safety operations told IANS. He added that track renewal is underway in almost every section.

Since track renewal is a priority now, lines are blocked for the work, which causes the trains to run slow.

The tracks fit for 110 km to 130 km per hour speed are also witnessing the slowdown effect, with even the Rajdhani service being hit.

Besides Lucknow, other divisions of the Northern Zone are also performing badly on the punctuality front with Moradabad's being a low 40.14 per cent.

PM to lay foundation stone in October for Mumbai's two elevated railway corridors costing Rs 34,000 cr

PM to lay foundation stone in October for Mumbai's two elevated railway corridors costing Rs 34,000 cr

The foundation stone of two new commuter rail corridors, Churchgate to Virar and CST to Panvel, will be unveiled next month by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The former is a Rs 23,000-crore project. The latter is a Rs 11,000-crore one.

These two projects are part of the state government's ambitious plan of a little over Rs 1 lakh crore to strengthen Mumbai's transportation infrastructure.

Union railways minister Suresh Prabhu last week reviewed the status of the pre-project development exercise. He and state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had recently said investors from abroad have evinced interest in providing long-term low interest loans for these two corridors.

The 48.3-km one between CST and Panvel, along the existing central line, will be elevated for 31.6 km and run parallel to the existing lines for 12.4 km on the surface. Churchgate-Virar entails 63.3 km along the existing western line, approximately 42 km of elevated stretch, eight km underground and 12 km on grade.

A state government official confirmed that efforts are on to kickstart the project development by laying foundation stone in October. Both projects are expected to be completed in five years and will be implemented by a joint venture of the railways and the state government, through a Special Purpose Vehicle.(more)

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High-speed Spanish train to undertake trial run on Delhi-Mumbai route

Trains manufactured by Spanish firm Talgo may soon undertake trial runs at speeds between 160 and 200 kmph on the existing tracks on the Delhi-Mumbai route.

Depending upon the results of the trial runs, the railways will consider introduction of high-speed trains on other routes too, a senior Railway Ministry official said.