Rail Minister Reports High On-Time Performance for Trains in India

On-Time Performance of Indian Railways

On Wednesday, the Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament that during the 2024-25 period, 77.12% of mail and express trains reached their destinations on time. This figure is expected to rise to nearly 80% from April to October in 2025-26.

In response to questions regarding train punctuality, Vaishnaw stated in the Lok Sabha that the Indian Railways makes every effort to ensure timely operations. However, various factors such as fog, obstacles on the route, maintenance of assets, chain pulling, protests, animals on the tracks, and other unforeseen circumstances can disrupt train schedules.

He also mentioned that the Vande Bharat Express trains have seen nearly 100% seat occupancy. Regarding the sleeper version of the Vande Bharat train, he noted that it has been designed and developed domestically.

Vaishnaw added that two such train sets have already been manufactured and are undergoing extensive testing. Concerning the bullet train project, he highlighted that the construction of the 508-kilometer Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project is currently underway with technical and financial assistance from the Japanese government.