‘43 per cent trains reach Ernakulam Jn late’

KOCHI:It is confirmed! The trains are running late.A recent survey conducted by a travel app has revealed around 43 per cent of trains reaching the Ernakulam Junction are late. The finding is based on train delays in the past three months, from February to April.  According to the travel app RailYatri.in, users shared their location with them on a daily basis which helped them determine the exact delay of each train. The analysts collected crowd-sourced data of train running status across the country and, after adding a layer of algorithm, came up with trends which showed the performing and non-performing trains at a particular station.

Only long distance trains which pass through Ernakulam were considered during the study. The national delay, revealed the data collected by the app, was 53 minutes in 2017.  Florina Soren, spokesperson for RailYatri, said since Ernakulam Junction is an important station connecting many cities across Kerala, the delay here will have a direct effect on the commuters’ travel plans.

“We at RailYatri use deep data analysis to regularly release train running trends across the country with hopes such an insight regarding performing and non-performing trains will go a long way in helping passengers plan their travel better,” she said. The survey said the Gorakhpur-Trivandrum Raptisagar Express was the most delayed train in Ernakulam. Its average delay was 22 hours. The other trains that ‘failed’ on the punctuality front included the Patna-Ernakulam Express (15 hours), Hazrat Nizamuddin-Ernakulam Mangala Lakshadweep Super Fast Express (14.5 hours), Pune-Ernakulam Express via Panvel (10.5 hours) and New Delhi- Thiruvananthapuram Kerala Super Fast Express (9.5 hour).

Silver lining

The survey did not entirely paint the railways in a bad light. It said there were trains which ran on time and could be trusted.  “The Karaikal-Ernakulam Express was the most punctual (on-time) train. Other trains having an average delay of less than 15 minutes were the Delhi Hazrat Nizamuddin-Thiruvananthapuram SF Express (nine minutes), Porbandar-Kochuveli Weekly Express (nine minutes), Mumbai CST-Thiruvananthapuram Central Weekly Express (10 minutes) and Rajdhani Express (11 minutes),” said Florina Soren.

‘Delays unintentional’

The Railway Divisional Manager said the delays took place due to various reasons and were unintentional.  “Since the trains move serially, if one train gets delayed due to some mechanical or technical snag, others behind it fail to maintain their schedule,” he said.

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