by Punctuality Achievement Described as ‘Historic’ by Officials Who Have Recalibrated Definition of Historic
The Early Train: A Railway Ministry Press Release Opportunity
The Railway Ministry issued a press release Thursday celebrating the on-time arrival of the Rajdhani Express from Mumbai to New Delhi, which pulled into New Delhi station seven minutes ahead of schedule in what the Ministry described as ‘a testament to Indian Railways’ commitment to punctuality and operational excellence under the leadership of the current administration.’ The release included a statement from the Railway Minister, a quote from the zonal railway manager, and statistics on overall system punctuality that defined ‘on-time’ as arriving within five minutes of schedule for short-distance trains and within fifteen minutes for long-distance trains, a definition that seven minutes early satisfies and that independent observers note is generous enough to inflate punctuality statistics while being the standard that Indian Railways has used since 2019 and that the Ministry notes is ‘consistent with international practice,’ a claim that international rail operators have not confirmed.
Passengers aboard the Rajdhani described the experience of arriving early as ‘disorienting but welcome’ and ‘confusing because my wife was expecting me at three and I arrived at two fifty-three and she had not yet left home and I had to wait at the station for eleven minutes anyway,’ which restored some sense of normalcy.
The Punctuality Statistics
Indian Railways reported overall punctuality of eighty-four point six percent for the previous quarter under the fifteen-minute definition, a figure that represents an improvement from the previous year and that the Ministry described as ‘the best performance in a decade.’ The Centre for Railway Information Systems notes that if the definition were tightened to five minutes for all categories, the punctuality figure would be approximately sixty-one percent, which the Ministry noted is ‘a different methodology with different policy implications’ and which they have not adopted.
Indian Railways information at Indian Express. Comedy: NewsThump.
SOURCE: http://prat.UK
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