Train delays: Railways must give top priority to punctuality
The Tribune Editorial: Dedicated freight corridors, the bullet train project and station redevelopment under the Amrit Bharat scheme are raising the bar. But infrastructure alone does not guarantee reliability.
INDIA’s railway infrastructure is often showcased as a symbol of progress and modernisation: record budgetary allocations, high-speed trains, near-total electrification and rapid track expansion. However, this grand narrative has a sobering side. According to a parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report, train punctuality has slid sharply — from 90 per cent in 2021-22 to 73.62 per cent in 2023-24. The contrast between ambitious goals and everyday passenger experience is hard to ignore. The PAC has also questioned the way punctuality is measured by the Railways. Counting on-time performance only at terminating stations, and allowing a generous 15-minute delay, produces a misleading picture. Global benchmarks, such as Japan’s “every second counts” approach, show how India has diluted its standards. A system that masks en route delays breeds complacency.
This decline is especially stark when viewed alongside the scale of investment. The Union Budget’s record allocation of around Rs 2.77 lakh crore and the Economic Survey’s data on doubled track commissioning after 2014 affirm the government’s commitment to railway-led growth. Dedicated freight corridors, the bullet train project and station redevelopment under the Amrit Bharat scheme are raising the bar. But infrastructure alone does not guarantee reliability. Mission Raftaar’s modest gains — far short of its speed targets — highlight persistent coordination failures across zonal railways. The PAC’s finding that 27 of the 33 delay factors are controllable by the Railways is particularly damning.
The way forward demands a shift from headline-driven modernisation to operational discipline. Integrated, real-time monitoring at originating, intermediate and terminating stations is essential. Technological tools, from advanced signalling to data-driven delay management, must be deployed with due accountability. The challenge for India, which has the world’s fourth-largest rail network, is not only to build faster, safer and more comfortable trains but also to run them punctually.
