The Central Railway (CR) has reported a substantial decrease of 27.54% in asset failures across all its five divisions during the current financial year, compared to the same period last year.
“During the period from April 1 to July 12, CR operated a total of 37,040 mail express trains, in addition to 1,810 suburban services daily. The punctuality of mail express trains during this period stood at 85%, while suburban trains boasted a punctuality rate of 95%,” said an official of CR.
Factors contributing to the punctuality loss
According to Central Railway, the factors contributing to the punctuality loss of 15% in mail express trains and 5% in Suburban trains can be categorised into two main groups. External factors accounted for 40.33% of the punctuality loss, while internal asset failure factors represented the remaining 59.67%.
Among the external factors affecting punctuality, late arrivals of mail express trains from other zones accounted for 12.55% of the delays. Incidents requiring doctors' attention aboard trains constituted 6.73% of the delays, with 127 cases reported during the current financial year. Alarm chain pulling incidents accounted for 6.50% of the delays, with 1,490 cases recorded during the same period. Other factors included frequent opening of level crossing gates (5.66%), adverse weather conditions (5.50%), and incidents related to trespassing resulting in run-over cases (3.39%). However, the major cause of punctuality loss, constituting 59.67%, was attributed to internal asset failures.
"Noteworthy improvements have been observed in various aspects of asset performance. The number of electric and diesel loco failures decreased by 23.71%, from 97 cases last year to 74 cases in the current year. Unit defects in local trains decreased by an impressive 34%, with occurrences dropping from 50 cases to 33 cases. Instances of track defects, including weld failure and rail fractures, decreased by 27.86%, from 201 cases to 145 cases. Additionally, signal failures decreased by 29.94%, with the number of cases reducing from 177 to 124," said Dr. Manaspure.
Pointers:
(Data from April 1 to July 12 of both years)
The number of electric and diesel loco failures decreased from 97 cases last year to 74 cases in the current year, representing a reduction of 23.71%.
Unit Defect in local trains decreased by 34 percent. The occurrences of unit defects (technical glitches) in local trains decreased from 50 cases last year to 33 cases in the current year, reflecting a reduction of 34%.
Instances of track defects, such as weld failure and rail fractures, decreased from 201 cases last year to 145 cases in the current year, indicating a reduction of 27.86%.
The number of signal failures decreased from 177 cases last year to 124 cases in the current year, showcasing a reduction of 29.94%.
