South Central Railway clears tracks for speedier trains

Hyderabad: The Indian Railways has announced that 500 trains will be speeded up in the November timetable as South Central Railway (SCR) has cleared up the bottlenecks leading to faster, or at least punctual movement of trains. This has also helped trains that were delayed elsewhere make up for the lost time in the SCR zone. SCR general manager Vinod Kumar Yadav said safety and punctuality were priorities in running trains. He said SCR had planned to eliminate all unmanned level crossings by September 2018.

SCR chief public relations officer M. Uma Shanker Kumar said that besides clearance of bottlenecks, electrification and regular track maintenance had resulted in smoother movement of trains. “Before complete electrification at a few sections, it used to take 45 minutes to shift from an electric engine to a diesel engine,” he said. SCR has upgraded tracks, resulting in fewer ‘caution orders’ that used to limit train speeds.

A passenger, Mr G. Tirumalacharya, said Tata Nagar Express was usually delayed by about an hour, but he found it reaching on the dot at 6.15 am on Saturday last. “Rayalaseema Express from Tirupathi to Hyderabad was delayed for about 1.5 hours at Mantralayam Road but reached Hyderabad only 10 minutes behind scehdule,” he said.

An official from the operational wing said regular trains were delayed at busy junctions and by special trains. “The removal of bottlenecks and upgradation of tracks after Vikarabad station, Cherlapally and Nizamabad are helping make up for lost time,” he said. The improved performance of trains has helped SCR extend services. Ajmer Express now runs up to Jaipur, and Kazipet-Nagpur, Kazipet-Pune and Rayalaseema Express will be upgraded to super fast services.