Good Job done? Indian railway claims 100 per cent punctuality

Web Desk

It might seem incongruous to hear that trains in India are punctual. But,Indian Railways claimed it has achieved 100 per cent punctuality rate — for the “first time in its history” — on July 1. That means none of its passenger trains faced delays and their departures and arrivals were on time. It is, however, important to note that only a fraction of the total trains are currently running, which means less congestion on tracks. Its previous best, according to the Railways, was 99.54 per cent on June 23, when a train got delayed.

Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal on Thursday tweeted: “Trains in the Fast Lane: Enhancing services to unprecedented levels, Indian Railways made history on 1st July, 2020 by achieving 100% punctuality rate.”

All special trains — 12 pairs running on the Rajdhani routes since May 12 and 100 pairs operating since June 1 — are continuing even as the Railways has cancelled all regular trains till August 12.

Last month, the railways had sent a memo to its zones to ensure 100 per cent punctuality in the running of 230 special trains, which is less than two per cent of the 13,000 trains that normally run on the railway network.

Railway Board Chairman V K Yadav had asked all general managers and divisional railway managers to ensure that the 15 pairs of Rajdhani special trains and 100 pairs of passenger trains maintain their schedule without any delays. He had also said that since the number of trains being run on the network is currently small, the punctuality has to be 100 per cent