The Indian Railways under the Narendra Modi government has been seeing rapid advancement and development, be it the new IRCTC website or improved facilities on trains and stations. Indian Railways over the past few years has also added a number of new trains which have been highly successful.
In another addition, the Indian Railways’ engine-less semi-high speed train, Vande Bharat Express has set a record of being punctual on almost all days of service in April, according to report published by Financial Express. The Vande Bharat express which runs from Delhi to Varanasi with stops at Kanpur and Prayagraj ran point on time in April and was not even delayed by a second. This is a huge step forward for Indian transport giant, Indian railways which has been criticized for its adherence to train timings. As per report by Amar Ujala, Vande Bharat reached the Allahabad Junction in just 6.08 hours which is before its usual schedule. Vande Bharat express or train 18 is designed and made by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) Chennai under the Indian government’s Make in India initiative.
This month Vande Bharat express reached Prayagraj junction early for 25 days this month as the train runs only five days a week. The Train leaves New Delhi station at 6:00am and is scheduled to reach Varanasi at 2:00pm. The train covers the 770 km distance between Delhi and Varanasi in a record time of eight hours. The engine-less Vande Bharat is designed to travel at a speed of 180 Kmph which makes it the fastest train in India.
Indian railways over the past few years have been witnessing rapid improvement in services and facilities. To improve the safety of railway operations according to a press release by the Ministry of Railways 2132 ROBs/RUBs(Road Over and Road Under Bridges) were completed between 2014 and 2016, at an average of 1066 per year, as compared to an average of 763 per year in previous five years. Also 2433 unmanned level crossings were eliminated between 2014 and 2016 at an average of 1217 per year, as compared to 1139 per year in previous five years.
In another major mile the stone Indian railways has successfully turned 1,600 railway stations across India into Rail Wire Wi-Fi zones. The national transporter has added 600 railway stations on the Wi-Fi map in a short span of 10 days. Mumbai’s Santacruz rail station located on suburban section is the 1600th rail station in the country to have access to free public Wi-Fi.
Under the Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat Campaign, IR has also been successful in Improving the cleanliness of stations. As per ‘Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat Cleanliness Report 2018, there has been a 17.6 percent improvement in the cleanliness scores of A1 and A standard stations in comparison to 2017. In terms of zonal performance, 6 zones have improved their cleanliness score by 20 percent in comparison to last year.
The stellar performance of the Vande Bharat express coupled with other dimensions of the Indian railways’ efforts are sure to propel the national transporter towards a more efficient and passenger friendly future.