Lok Sabha Question No. 2926 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-11
Subject: Punctuality of Trains
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Pankaj Chowdhary

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2926 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2020

## PUNCTUALITY OF TRAINS

†2926. SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  the  problem  of  delayed  arrival  of passenger trains and trains taking more time to cover the assigned distance;

- (b)  if  so,  whether  there  is  any  proposal  for  timely  operation  of  passenger trains and reduce the journey time;

(c)  whether  the  Government  has  any  plans  to  introduce  a  modern  signal system for timely operation of passenger trains and reduce journey time; and

(d) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2926 BY SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 11.03.2020 REGARDING PUNCTUALITY OF TRAINS

- (a)  and  (b)    Punctuality  of  trains  is  accorded  very  high  priority  by  Indian Railways.    However,  trains  do  get  delayed  not  only  due  to  the  factors related  to  its  internal  working  but  also  due  to  external  factors  which  are beyond the control of Railways.  In addition to asset failures, train running and  punctuality  is  affected  by  factors  such  as  line  capacity,  terminal capacity,  constraints  on  account  of  inadequate  infrastructure,  increasing passenger  and  freight  traffic,  adverse  weather  conditions  (fog,  rains, breaches), intermittent natural calamities such as floods, cyclones, heavy rains,  heavy  road  traffic  at  level  crossing  gates,  law  &  order  problems, miscreant activities such as theft of Railway assets, mid-section run over cases involving cattle and humans, etc.

In order to ensure timely operation of passenger trains, Railways has taken numerous steps which include:

- (i) Rigorous monitoring at Divisional, Zonal and Railway Board levels.
- (ii) Standardization  of  rakes  and  provision  of  spare  rakes  to  improve punctuality
- (iii) Removal of infrastructure bottlenecks in a planned manner.
- (iv) Integrated  Mega  Blocks  are  planned  in  such  a  way  that  all  asset maintenance departments can do their work simultaneously.
- (v) End  to  end  running  of  some  trains  with  diesel  locomotives  to  avoid detention on account of loco changing from diesel to electric.
- (vi) Conversion of conventional rakes of Mail/Express trains (Integral Coach Factory design rakes) into LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) rakes.

(vii) Rationalization of Time Table in order to make a group of similar speed trains.

(viii) Curtailment of stoppage time at major terminals.

- (ix) Provision of Bye-pass at stations to avoid engine reversal.
- (X)  For  attaining  accuracy  in  punctuality  data,  the  timing  of  arrival  and departures are being captured automatically through data-loggers.

(c) and (d) Indian Railway Signalling assets are continuously being upgraded to install Modern Signalling System for timely operation of Passenger trains & reducing the journey time.  The status of Signalling asset as on 31.01.2020 are as under:

|   S. No. | ITEM                                                                                                            |   As on 31.01.2020 |
|----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------|
|        1 | Provision of Panel Interlocking (PI)/ Electronic Interlocking (EI)/ Route Relay Interlocking (RRI) at Stations. |               6027 |
|        2 | Stations with Complete Track Circuiting (Stations)                                                              |               6140 |
|        3 | Block Proving by Axle Counters (Block Sections)                                                                 |               5610 |
|        4 | Interlocked Level Crossings (Nos.)                                                                              |              11587 |

Modernization of Signaling is proposed to be taken up on Golden Quadrilateral (GQ)  and  Golden  Diagonal  (GD)  routes.  The  work  includes  Automatic  Train Protection (ATP) System.

Indian Railways have decided to implement Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System  on  selected  sections.  These  Systems  enable  Loco  Pilots  to  drive trains  even  during  heavy  fog  as  movement  authority/  Signal  aspect  is displayed  in  the  cab  of  the  Loco.  This  helps  Loco  Pilot  to  run  the  train confidently even during impaired visibility.  The following  ATP systems are working /in-progress:-

- (i) Train  Protection  and  Warning  System:  Automatic  Train  Protection  (ATP) System based on European Train Control System (ETCS Level-1) Technology  i.e.  Train  Protection  and  Warning  System  (TPWS)  has  been implemented on 345 Route km (200 Route km Delhi  - Agra Section, 117 Route km Chennai Suburban section and 28 Route km of Metro Railway Kolkata).
- (ii) Train Collision  Avoidance  System  (TCAS):  Train  Collision  Avoidance System (TCAS) is an indigenous Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System developed in association with Indian manufacturers.  The system has been installed on Lingampalli - Vikarabad - Wadi and Vikarabad - Bidar sections (250 Route km) on South Central Railway. Further, the systems are under implementation on 1199 Route km on South Central Railway.
- (iii) Pilot projects for provision of Modern Train Control System based on latest  LTE  based  European  Train  Control  System  (Level-2)  is  under implementation on 4 pilot sections of 640 Route kms.

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