Maligaon, June 30 (MExN): The lockdown period has provided an opportunity to the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) to speed up maintenance work as regular passenger trains stopped plying throughout the country, due to which the average speed of goods trains are continuously on the rise in the NFR area.
The monthly average speed of goods trains till June 28 increased from 24.3 kmph to 34.89 kmph over the same period of last year. That is an increase of 43.6%, according to a press release from the CPRO, NFR Subhanan Chanda.
On June 28, the average speed of freight trains showed an increase of 79.4% with 43.08 kmph as against 24.02 kmph on June 28, 2019.
It was found that emphasis given on maintenance of assets led to a substantial increase in asset reliability, decreasing asset failures and thereby increasing the average speed of freight-carrying trains due to fewer detentions and speed restrictions.
The CPRO said that the lockdown provided some time gaps to take up track and other maintenance work. All these works were done with detailed planning and continuous monitoring maintaining all COVID-19 related health protocols.
An increase in the average speed of goods train minimizes the turnaround time of the wagons and enables Railways to maximize the use of the wagons which is necessary to carry essential commodities to every part of North Eastern states in view of the present COVID-19 scenario in India. The increased average speed, resulting from the elimination of detentions and speed restrictions due to asset failures, also contributes to energy conservation by decreasing fuel consumption, the release added.
