The trains plying on the city's Central Railway network have been failing abysmally to keep up with their schedules, especially during non-peak hours. Authorities and experts differ on the reasons why

It appears that the searing Mumbai heat has not only slowed down the denizens of the city, but also the trains plying on the city's central network, which have been running at a slower pace during non-peak hours, for the past two weeks.
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Most of the Central Railway (CR) trains have been running late for periods ranging from 10 minutes to half an hour, and are sometimes even late by an hour.

The up-trains in the network, which move towards CST every morning, have been running late by 10 minutes to half an hour on a regular basis, and sometimes even more.
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There is even more mayhem in the schedules for the evening trains which run after 9 pm. Most of these trains are failing miserably to keep up with the schedules set by the administration.

Motorman speak
Speaking to MiD DAY, a motorman, who is a member of the National Railway Mazdoor Union, put forward several factors, which were causing the trains to run at a slower pace.

"There are several reasons for these irregularities in the train schedules. One of the biggest factors is the acute staff shortage faced by the railways. Most of the motormen have gone on vacation for the summer, and the staff has to make-do with those who are reporting to work.

Another reason for the unpunctuality is that caution orders are in place at several locations in the network, as pre-monsoon maintenance work is underway at the spots.

Motormen must honour these caution orders by slowing down their trains, decelerating them to speeds of 20 to 30 km per hour.
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Moreover, there is what is called a 'neutral section' near Kalyan, where trains slow down as they change from DC to AC, or vice versa," he said.

Passenger woes
"Every morning, the trains running on the tracks in the non-peak hours, between 11 am to 2 pm suffer inordinate delays.

The case is similar with the trains plying in the non-peak hours after 9 pm. Commuters who need to get to work or return home during these hours are affected badly by these delays," said Guncha Khare, a commuter, who works with an NGO.

The Other Side
Some CR officials have attributed the erratic schedules to a phenomenon called 'bunching'.

When a train follows close on the heels on another, it might have to slow down a considerable distance before it reaches the next platform, in order to avoid colliding into the train that preceded it.

A CR official said, "The trains may have been delayed due to bunching. At least two instances of bunching were reported last week, taking place on Tuesday and Friday."

V Malegaonkar the CPRO at CR, however, appeared defensive, saying, "There may have been some delays in the nightly schedules due to the cumulative effect of delays throughout the day.

Other than that, there have been no failures. The delays are definitely not owing to staff shortage."