Cancelled trains—and flights—have been the bane of travellers across India for as long as one can remember. Usually attributed to adverse weather conditions and of course non-availability of required train bogies or aircraft and occasionally, accidents, these cancellations usually have a domino effect. Train passengers are particularly vulnerable, because each cancellation ensures other trains have to cope with hundreds of desperate passengers.
Apparently alive to this issue, the government has chalked out grand plans to revitalise the sector, not just in terms of infrastructure and services, but also in terms of safety and timeliness. In fact, there are even plans to start high-speed bullet trains in collaboration with Chinese and Japanese companies. But as the annual reports of the CAG show, the functioning of what many describe as the country’s lifeline has been less than positive.
The last report in fact categorically indicts the Indian Railways for serving ‘food unfit for humans’, and for re-issuing blankets to passengers for years without cleaning them. And now, in a written report tabled in the Rajya Sabha, the MoS for Railways Rajen Gohain admitted that the number of trains cancelled for various reasons have seen a dramatic increase from 2,679 in 2014 to 9,235 in 2016. This year till June, 4,409 trains were cancelled while 1,701 were diverted.
While this three-fold increase in the number of cancellations is disturbing by itself, another significant takeaway from the minister’s reply is that while bad weather continued to be main reason for most cancellations, the number of times trains were cancelled as law and order issues rose from 31 in 2104 to 1,149 in 2016 and 121 till June this year. While the online booking system has been a huge success story, allowing people to book from the comfort of their homes, the railways and the government might want to ponder over ways to ensure that the booking translates into a guaranteed, safe and secure ride.