The state-owned Indian Railways has changed the arrival and departure timings of over 300 trains, a move aimed at making the trains more efficient.
The departure timing of 57 trains have been advanced, while that of 58 trains deferred.
Likewise, the arrival timing of 102 trains are advanced and 84 trains deferred, the Railway said in a statement.
The new time table will be effective from Aug. 15. Passengers are requested to please check their train timings from railway inquiry before commencing their journey,” it added.
A senior official said on Tuesday that the move would help streamline the efficiency of railway system and shed its image as late runners.
“Trains often run late in India due to many reasons like signal malfunction, rolling stock breakdown, overhead equipment failure, which are sometimes beyond control.
The timing change will improve the efficiency of trains and fix the punctuality problem,” he added.
The Indian Railways has been taking steps to revive its performance.
Some months back, it decided to sack 13,000 employees on “unauthorized” leave for a long time to bring in discipline in the service.
The Indian Railways is one of the world’s largest train networks, criss-crossing the country from north to south. It carries nearly 23 million passengers every day.
The vast public enterprise can be referred to as a semi-state. It runs schools, hospitals, has its own police force and construction companies, and has 1.3 million people on its payroll, making it the seventh biggest employer in the world.
However, train disasters are quite common in India because much of the colonial-era rail infrastructure is out of date and needs urgent overhaul.
A number of people are killed in train accidents, mostly derailments, across the country annually year. (Xinhua/NAN)