Railways asks drivers to hit top-speed if train is late
To improve the punctuality of trains, Indian Railways has asked drivers to hit top speed if the train is running late, an official said. This new rule overturns an order passed in 2000, which allowed drivers to travel at Maximum Permissible Speed (MPS) even if the train was on time. But they rarely followed it over fears of getting penalized for overspeeding.
New timetable releasing on August 15 has new rules
Officials concluded that fearing action due to overspeeding, drivers didn't touch the maximum speed. A new timetable will be released on August 15, which prescribes booked speed: the maximum speed the train needs to run at to maintain its schedule. For a train having MPS of 110kmph, the booked speed will be 105kmph. For those having MPS of 130kmph, the booked speed is 115kmph.
These new rules may improve Railways' punctuality
To give a perspective, most trains have MPS of 110kmph, but they run at an average speed of 40-50kmph. The premium Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains, having MPS of 130kmph, travel at an average speed of 80-90kmph. This new rule will mean that drivers can travel at booked speed, which is more than what they travel at, and increase speed if needed.
This will relieve drivers of pressure, says a loco pilot
"With the limit set at a lower speed, drivers can normally drive at 105kmph and also have the cushion to push speed upwards to the MPS just enough to gain lost time," a loco pilot said. This would relieve them of pressure too.
