Heavy downpour in far-off Mumbai has hit the arrival and departure of trains here too. Senior Railway officers told DT Next that train punctuality has fallen by 6% to nearly 79% in the Chennai Railway division owing to torrential rain that paralysed train movement in the Western Railway zone.
Chennai:
A back-of-the-envelope calculation has put the number of trains affected by the Mumbai floods at around 30 trains daily, which reportedly accounts for around 15% of the trains operated in the division. Ironically, Chennai and Trivandrum divisions are among the least punctual divisions in the zone (of a total of six zones), with the average punctuality rate hovering only around 85%, which is less than Salem, Tiruchy, Madurai and Palakkad divisions. The relatively low punctuality rate of Chennai was largely due to the sheer number of trains operated in the two divisions. On an average, the Chennai railway division, which operates nearly 195 trains daily, suffers a delay of 10 minutes for 40-50% of trains. Up to 15% of the trains operated in the division suffer a delay of up to an hour every day. Technically, Chennai has done better than Trivandrum given that the latter does not operate local trains (EMUs and MRTS).
“For Western Railway, it is a problem of operation due to heavy inundation of tracks. For us, it is the non-availability or delay in return of rakes from the flood affected region. The pairing trains do not return in time, or in a few cases, don’t return at all. But we cannot stop operating trains. We have to make good the detention in the Western zone by operating spare trains,” said a highly placed Southern Railway (SR) officer requesting anonymity. The cumulative loss during the peak flood time would be equivalent to cancelling five trains daily, the officer reasoned, adding that Chennai was not the only division to be affected. “Such natural calamities have a ripple effect. From Mumbai, it affects all divisions up to Chennai. Our punctuality has fallen between five and six percent,” the officer added.
The inflow into the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur is set to increase significantly as the dams in Karnataka are filling up fast owing to heavy rain in the catchment areas of the Cauvery, particularly in Kodagu district in that state. The news about incessant rains in Cauvery catchment areas and in the Western Ghats has brought cheer to the farming community in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as well. The level in Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir in Mandya district on Wednesday touched 86.90 feet registering an inflow of 22,729 cusecs. The inflow may increase in a couple of days due to heavy rains in Kodagu. While the level in Kabini stood at 2278 feet, the inflow was 18,417 cusecs in the wake of continuous downpour at Wayanad in Kerala. The discharge was maintained at 2131cusecs in Harangi dam, whose level stood at 2842 feet, in Kodagu district. While the inflow was 8926 cusces, the discharge was increased to 9,000 cusecs.
The marginal fall in train punctuality here has been attributed to ‘detention’ of rakes in the Western Railway and beyond.
A back-of-the-envelope calculation has put the number of trains affected by the Mumbai floods at around 30 trains daily, which reportedly accounts for around 15% of the trains operated in the division. Ironically, Chennai and Trivandrum divisions are among the least punctual divisions in the zone (of a total of six zones), with the average punctuality rate hovering only around 85%, which is less than Salem, Tiruchy, Madurai and Palakkad divisions. The relatively low punctuality rate of Chennai was largely due to the sheer number of trains operated in the two divisions. On an average, the Chennai railway division, which operates nearly 195 trains daily, suffers a delay of 10 minutes for 40-50% of trains. Up to 15% of the trains operated in the division suffer a delay of up to an hour every day. Technically, Chennai has done better than Trivandrum given that the latter does not operate local trains (EMUs and MRTS).
“For Western Railway, it is a problem of operation due to heavy inundation of tracks. For us, it is the non-availability or delay in return of rakes from the flood affected region. The pairing trains do not return in time, or in a few cases, don’t return at all. But we cannot stop operating trains. We have to make good the detention in the Western zone by operating spare trains,” said a highly placed Southern Railway (SR) officer requesting anonymity. The cumulative loss during the peak flood time would be equivalent to cancelling five trains daily, the officer reasoned, adding that Chennai was not the only division to be affected. “Such natural calamities have a ripple effect. From Mumbai, it affects all divisions up to Chennai. Our punctuality has fallen between five and six percent,” the officer added.
Rain in Karnataka catchment; Mettur dam to get more inflow
The inflow into the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur is set to increase significantly as the dams in Karnataka are filling up fast owing to heavy rain in the catchment areas of the Cauvery, particularly in Kodagu district in that state. The news about incessant rains in Cauvery catchment areas and in the Western Ghats has brought cheer to the farming community in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as well. The level in Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir in Mandya district on Wednesday touched 86.90 feet registering an inflow of 22,729 cusecs. The inflow may increase in a couple of days due to heavy rains in Kodagu. While the level in Kabini stood at 2278 feet, the inflow was 18,417 cusecs in the wake of continuous downpour at Wayanad in Kerala. The discharge was maintained at 2131cusecs in Harangi dam, whose level stood at 2842 feet, in Kodagu district. While the inflow was 8926 cusces, the discharge was increased to 9,000 cusecs.