Railways have withdrawn speed restrictions imposed in three corridors to improve operations and punctuality of trains.
With the easing of the speed curbs imposed by the Commissioner of Railway Safety and the Railway Board, locomotives can now haul trains at 80 kmph on the up and down lines of the Angamaly station, 45 kmph on the 400-metre stretch near Thripunithura, and 80 kmph in 4.3 km along the Changanacherry-Thiruvalla section.
“The speed restrictions prevailing in these corridors were 15 kmph, 20 kmph, and 15 kmph respectively. The easing of the speed restrictions and allowing trains to run at the sanctioned sectional speed have resulted in mail and express trains saving up to half-an-hour and improving punctuality,” Divisional Railway Manager, Thiruvananthapruam, Shirish Kumar Sinha told The Hindu .
Track renewal
The restrictions had been imposed while laying the tracks or when the track renewal works were undertaken. The speed on the 400-m stretch near Thripunithura in the Kayamkulam- Kottayam- Ernakulam corridor will be enhanced to 60 kmph in two months.
The authorities are upbeat that the punctuality of trains had gone up to 75% and have fixed 80% for December. Trains are running at 100 kmph in the Thiruvananthapuram Central-Kayamkulam corridor and 80 kmph in the Ernakulam-Shoranur and the Thiruvananthapuram Central-Shoranur corridors. The DRM said complaints from commuters on the late running of trains had come down drastically.
“We have identified another 10 speed cautions in the State and attempts are on to remove the restrictions this year itself,” Mr. Sinha said. If the restrictions cannot be withdrawn fully, speed would be enhanced to improve operations.
