Indian Railways trains to run at faster speeds! New step to avoid train delays

A new move by Indian Railways to avoid train delays! Recently, Piyush Goyal-led Railway Ministry has asked the drivers of Indian Railways to hit the top permissible speed only to make up for the lost time if trains are running late. The new directive by the Railway Ministry replaces an order, which was issued in the year 2000, as per which trains are supposed to run at maximum permissible speed (MPS). The order said that trains were supposed to run at MPS even when they are on time, subject to speed restrictions. Recently, a source quoted in a PTI report informed that the decision was taken by the ministry after it was discovered that the punctuality of trains suffered because loco drivers were wary of driving at MPS due to the fear of being caught overspeeding, which is a punishable offence in railways.

As per the new timetable by the railways, which is to be released on August 15, trains having an MPS of 110 km per hour will be shown having a normal prescribed speed of 105 km per hour and trains having an MPS of 120 km per hour will have 115 km per hour. The Mail and Express trains of Indian Railways have an MPS of 110 km per hour but they maintain an average speed of 40 to 50 km per hour, while trains such as Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi Express have an MPS of 130 km per hour and run at an average speed of 80 to 90 km per hour.

According to the source quoted in the report, with 30% trains running late this year, the Indian Railways has now decided to ask drivers to run at the booked speed but to run at the top permissible speed when they are running late.

According to a serving loco pilot, the drivers in Indian Railways have the tendency to run the trains much slower so as to not get penalised for overspeeding, which is going over the MPS. He further said that now with the limit set at a lower speed, drivers can run the trains at a speed of 105 km per hour and also have the cushion to push the speed upwards just enough to gain the lost time. He further added that as per the new order, they will not have to keep running at MPS all the time.