Lok Sabha Question No. 3125 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: Failures in Diesel Locomotives and Over Head Electrification
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Dr. Shivaji Bandappa Kalge, Shri Bhumare Sandipanrao Asaram

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3125

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026

## FAILURES IN DIESEL LOCOMOTIVES AND OVER HEAD ELECTRIFICATION

†3125. SHRI BHUMARE SANDIPANRAO ASARAM: DR. SHIVAJI BANDAPPA KALGE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the present status of data regarding non-compliance of train schedules and punctuality due to failures in diesel locomotives/engines and Over Head  Electrification  (OHE)  across  the  country  during  the  last  three years, zone-wise;
- (b)  whether  it  is  a  fact  that  critical  track  maintenance  process  (deep screening) is pending for twenty years and if so, the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government particularly in the State of Maharashtra to clear this pending work;
- (c)  the  steps  taken/proposed to be  taken by the Government to clear the pending work of track maintenance and deep screening work particularly in the State of Maharashtra;
- (d) the updated data of delays of trains in the State due to signal failures, damages  to  tracks,  congestion  and  issues  related  to  rolling  stock  in various States particularly in the State of Maharashtra; and
- (e) the details of the measures taken by the Government to fix accountability for redressal of these persistent problems?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a)  to  (e)  Indian  Railways  makes  all  possible  efforts  to  run  trains  on  time. Indian Railways punctuality is affected due to several factors which include foggy weather, path constraints, asset maintenance and other issues, alarm chain pulling, agitations, cattle run over and other unforeseen circumstances.

To  improve  the  punctuality  of  trains,  several  steps  have  been  taken  by Indian Railways. These include rigorous monitoring of running of passenger carrying trains at divisional, zonal and Railway Board levels, introduction of rolling block system for maintenance of assets to increase their reliability, removal of infrastructure bottlenecks in a planned manner and rationalization of Time Table in a scientific manner.

Further,  to  ensure  real  time  and  realistic  reporting  of  arrival/departure  of passenger trains, data loggers are being used.

The  sustained  focus  on  improvement  has  helped  in  improvement  of  asset reliability and better punctuality performance as below:

| Year                     | Punctuality   |
|--------------------------|---------------|
| 2023-24                  | 73.62 %       |
| 2024-25                  | 77.12 %       |
| 2025-26 (Up to Feb'2026) | 77.24 %       |

Indian  Railways  operate  about  25,000  trains  daily  and  the  asset  failure incidences  are only  about  2  %  including  those  of  Locos/OHE.  The  unusual incidences  are analysed,  and  suitable  corrective  measures  are  taken accordingly.

Regular  inspection  and  maintenance  of  all  railway  assets  including  Track, rolling  stock,  OHE,  signalling  etc  is  carried  out  as  per  laid  down  norms to ensure  safe  operation  of  trains.  These  are  regularly  monitored  through designated  officials  in  divisions/depots  &  workshops  etc  across  zonal railways.  Preventive  maintenance  is  also  undertaken  to  ensure  safe  train operations.  Staff  are  regularly  counselled  and  trained  to  improve  these parameters.

Indian  railways  have  identified  and  implemented  long-term  and  short-term measures for improving the asset reliability. Further, Railways have initiated various  measures  such  as  launching  of  special  punctuality  drives  and sensitizing staff involved in train operations.

The punctuality loss incidences on account of maintenance of assets such as diesel locomotives, over head equipment (OHE) failures, signal failures, track,  congestion,  and  rolling  stock  issues  are  monitored  and  analysis  is done promptly to identify the root causes and the corrective and improvement actions.

A  number  of  improvement  measures  have  been  taken  for  improving  the reliability of Diesel Locomotives and OHE as under:

## Diesel Locomotives:

Diesel  Locomotives  are  crucial  to  the  crisis  management  plan  of  Indian Railways.  Quality  focus  is  being  given  for  maintenance  of  this  important asset for maintaining and improving the reliability by way of actions such as:

-  Provision of Remote monitoring and Management of Locomotives and Trains (REMMLOT) in diesel locomotives.
- Deployment of Prompt Response Team across India for quick resolution
-  of problems in WDG4G/6G locomotives.
-  Improvement  of  maintenance  periodicity  of  components  such  as Computer controlled Brake system for better reliability.

Over  Head  Equipment  (OHE):  OHE  is  crucial  for  reliable  train  operations. Indian  Railways  has  improved  OHE  reliability  through  regular  periodic maintenance  and  special  drives.  Scheduled  foot  patrolling,  regular  towerwagon  inspections,  TrD  audits  and  systematic  replacement  of  overaged assets  have  strengthened  system  performance.  Continuous  reduction  has been achieved in  the  failures  in  the  last  02  years.  Several  good  practices have been adopted such as:

-  Survey  for  identification  of  trees  along  the  track,  which  could  be potential for OHE failure and their trimming/cutting.
- 
- Frequent cleaning of insulators in polluted areas.
-  To minimise the impact of changes in weather, ensuring free movement and adjustment of parameters of Auto Tensioning Devices (ATD) in every season.
-  Special drive to check crossover and turnouts, OHE parameters and its adjustment.
-  Regular counselling sessions at the depot level to reinforce adherence to prescribed maintenance practices.
-  Cross audits of maintenance depots by other depots for identification of deficiencies and gaps with reference to standard practices.
- 
- Regular training for maintenance personnel.
-  Timely replacement of old assets and replacement on condition basis of catenary and contact wire.
-  Identification of broken and flashed insulators and their replacement in special drive.

## Track maintenance (Deep screening):

Deep screening of ballast is undertaken as a key mechanised maintenance activity  to  enhance  track  resilience,  stability  and  drainage.  The  work  is executed using Ballast Cleaning Machines (BCMs), including High Output

Ballast Cleaning Machines (HOBCMs)  ensuring efficient and uniform cleaning of the ballast bed with minimal manual intervention.

Earlier, until 2021, deep screening was carried out based on age basis. This approach has now been revised to a clean ballast cushion-based criterion, making the process scientific and reflective of actual field conditions. As per the revised norms, deep screening of main-line track is scheduled when the clean ballast cushion reduces below 200 mm. Mechanised capacity has also  been  significantly  strengthened  with  the  induction  of  65  BCMs, including  HOBCMs  during  the  last  five  years  which  has  enhanced  the overall capacity of Indian Railways for deep screening.

To support uniform implementation and quality control, detailed guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) have been issued to enhance the efficiency  and  quality  of  deep  screening.  Improvements  in  operational planning, including advance arrangement of ballast, tools, equipment, and trained manpower along with better sequencing and scheduling have led to faster  execution  and  better  utilisation  of  resources.  Special  priority  has also been accorded to points and crossings, considering their operational sensitivity. Special guidelines and a Joint Procedure Order (JPO) have been issued to facilitate safe and coordinated execution at these locations.

The  transition  from  an  age-based  to  a  condition-based  deep  screening approach supported by enhanced mechanisation and structured implementation procedures have significantly improved the pace, efficiency and quality of deep screening.

Total progress of deep screening has been increasing progressively which is given as under:

|   SN | Year    |   Progress (in Tkm) |
|------|---------|---------------------|
|    1 | 2020-21 |                9985 |
|    2 | 2021-22 |               10056 |
|    3 | 2022-23 |               10766 |
|    4 | 2023-24 |               14935 |
|    5 | 2024-25 |               15433 |

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