Railway officials hope to turn around the train timings by the end of the year. | Photo Credit: Nagara Gopal

CHENNAI

19 October 2019 00:00 IST

Piyush Goyal for operating trains at maximum permissible speed.

The Indian Railways will speed up trains to reduce running time and maximise utilisation of infrastructure across its network.

According to railway sources, Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal has directed all zonal railways to run trains “at the maximum permissible speed.”

All factors that contributed to the slowing down of trains, such as unmanned level crossings, non-interlocked sections and single line operations, were being eliminated on a fast track mode.

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“By the end of this year we hope to operate trains at the maximum permissible speed. The fact remains that despite having double broad gauge lines with electrification, world class locomotives and rakes, we are operating a majority of trains, including superfast expresses, at an average speed of 56-60 kmph owing to various issues. The condition of track is the primary reason for not being able to run trains at high speed on various routes. This issue is being addressed at the highest level,” a senior railway official told The Hindu on Thursday.

Turnaround delay

The official said the turnaround time of locomotives was one of the time-consuming factors in train operations. The Railway Minister had now instructed that more of pull-push trains with locomotives at both ends be operated to minimise the problem.

Addressing the Railway Board, General Managers and Divisional Railway Managers through video-conferencing last week, Mr. Goyal called for expeditious installation of fire detection system and fire extinguishers in all coaches. While focusing on enhancing the speed of trains, adequate safety precautions while operating trains in inclement weather conditions should also be taken, he said.

Excess staff

The Railway Minister expressed concern over the “great amount of overstaffing in railways” and urged senior officers to deploy surplus staff in operational duties. The strength and deployment of peons should be especially reviewed and “bare minimum staff should be used,” the Minister was quoted as saying.

Calling for early and effective implementation and e-office, Mr. Goyal said old records should be microfilmed and preserved while destroying documents that were not required for any future reference.

The Minister noted that punctuality of mail/express trains had improved from 67% in the April-September period last year to 74% in the same period this year. On the safety front, no passenger fatalities were reported in the first half of the year. Derailments and fire accidents should be thoroughly investigated and remedial action taken at the earliest, he said.

Southern Railway was among six zones that had achieved excellent progress in the elimination of unmanned level crossings.