Passengers relieved as Bengaluru trains get more punctual

BENGALURU: In a relief to passengers, trains running in Bengaluru division have become more punctual. Statistics show punctuality of mail and express trains increased in the past few months: 59.4% in April, 60.2% in May, 65.9% in June, 67.7% in July, 79.3% in August and 83% in September. Suburban trains showed improvement too: 67.7% in April, 66.4% in May, 70.3% in June, 73.4% in July, 83.2% in August and 89% in September.
Officials said the recently commissioned automatic signalling between KSR Bengaluru and Whitefield stations is one of the main reasons for the decrease in delays.In addition, the railways completed major works, including track upgradation between KSR Bengaluru and Cantonment sections.

Bengaluru divisional railway manager Ashok Kumar Verma said they are taking steps to improve punctuality of train services. “There are two exit points from KSR City station: One towards Cantonment and another towards Mysuru. Earlier, the speed limit on the first 2-3km to these exit points only 15kmph, now it has been upgraded to 30kmph,” said Verma.
There were several speed restrictions in Dharmavaram section mainly due to doubling work, but now many have been reduced. “We’ve removed 13 restrictions in different sections, so the speed limit of trains has increased from 70-80kmph to about 100kmph in those sections,” said Verma.
Further, Bengaluru division has too many gradients and curves along the tracks, so loco pilots often tend to go slow and do not maintain the maximum permissible speed limit. “We’ve deployed loco inspectors in slow trains and will guide them to achieve the maximum speed. We also did ‘foot-plating’ (travel with loco pilots) in July, particularly at night, to improve punctuality,” he added.
Every day, Bengaluru division handles 130-140 mail and express trains and 110 passenger ones. “We’re ensuring punctuality of passenger trains to avoid inconvenience to officegoers, particularly during peak hours,” Verma said.