G.V.G. Rao, a resident of Vanasthalipuram, and his family members travelled to New Delhi on Duronto Express to Hazarat Nizamuddin (train no.12285) towards the end of last year. The express train did leave Secunderabad on the scheduled time of 12.50 p.m. but reached Nizamuddin an hour late, nearly noon the next day.
Mr. Rao thought the return journey will be different and travelled by Telangana Express (train No.12724) . But, to his surprise, the train scheduled to leave New Delhi railway station at 4 p.m, left at 5.40 p.m., reached Secunderabad at 8.15 p.m. - late by 4.20 hours, with scheduled arrival being 3.55 p.m..
Dr. Jaiprakash, a retired railway medical professional, travelled in Godavari Express from Visakhapatnam (train no. 12727) last month. It did leave the starting station on time but instead of the scheduled arrival at 5.45 a.m. in Secunderabad, it reached at about 8.30 a.m. His return journey was no better as the same train reached Visakhapatnam more than an hour late.
There is the case of N.S.R. Murthy, a resident of Secunderabad. He and his family travelled by Coconada Express from Bhimavaram to Lingampalli (train No. 12775). It arrived at the right time at Bhimavaram Town but reached Secunderabad station at 8 a.m. the next day, against its scheduled time of 6.20 a.m.
These are a few examples of how the punctuality of the trains, including the marque express, have plummeted of late in South Central Railway (SCR). These loyal railway passenger complaints have been proven to be correct going by the official punctuality figures. Overall trains punctuality has dropped to a low of 70% in 2023-24 when compared to 83%, 81% and 91% respectively in the preceding years of 2022-23, 2021-2022 and 2020-2021.
“Almost all the trains are reaching their respective destinations late. Passengers generally opt for trains reaching destinations early morning to attend to their work places. Delays could also be because of constraints in the capacity of stations. While modifying Secunderabad station is necessary, construction of a few more platforms is also essential,” observed Mr. Murthy.
“The powers-that-be should ensure punctual running of trains, more so super fast trains, for which extra charges are levied, to avoid inconvenience to passengers,” said Mr. Rao.
“Something is really wrong if even main express trains are running late consistently,” added Dr. Jaiprakash.
The SCR, like other zonal railways, has been running more trains post COVID pandemic, including special trains, besides increasing number of freight trains with focus on garnering revenue. At the same time there are infrastructure constraints because of super busy lines and traffic blocks taken for maintenance works when trains are not allowed to run on these main sections, explained senior officials, pleading anonymity.
Engineering related issues, traffic blocks and construction activities are being listed as reasons for the trains running late despite the average speeds being increased to 110 kmph for more than 500 km in these most busy sections. Also, post pandemic, passenger trains are being phased out in favour of express or super fast trains to increase speeds and also garner more revenue despite capacity constraints, they said.
Fare difference between a passenger train and an express train is 15-30% more while from an express to super fast it could be up to ₹30 more.
“Reducing the running time of some of these converted trains has led to pressure not only on the overall rail system but also on the running railway staff like the loco-pilots, train managers, coaching staff, sectional controllers,” attest senior officials.
It may also be pertinent to note that the Charminar Express that derailed at the Hyderabad (Nampally) station on Wednesday morning was also running an hour late when it reached the terminal station and crashed into the end barrier. One of the issues being investigated by the Commissioner of Rail Safety (CRS) is if the loco-pilot was fatigued or could not control the train once it rolled on to the platform at 15 kmph.
