Despite being in Red Zone Agra division of NCR loaded 3.4 lakh tonnes Freight in April 20 , 6.25 % improvement from April-19
North Central Railway Freight and timetabled Parcel train operation improved substantially during lockdown
North central Railway following special maintenance schedule for coaching rakes to keep it service ready
Despite Agra and Mathura being red zone area based on spread of corona virus, Agra division of North Central Railway has maintained improved and efficient freight & parcel loading performance and overall loading by Agra division in April-2020 has been 3.4 lakh tonnes against 3.2 lakh tonnes in April 19, thus an improvement of 6.25% .
Effort by Agra division ensured that its Freight revenue in April-2020 also increased by 34.5 % from Rs. 36.14 Crores in April-19 to Rs 48.61 crores in April-20 . This performance of Agra division coming in current difficult times shows dedication and perseverance of Railway men to ensure supply of essential commodities in each part of the country during lockdown.
During the ongoing lockdown period North Central Railway has achieved new milestones in Freight and parcel train operation . Timetabled parcel train operations on NCR started wef 08.04.20 and since then it has achieved 100% punctual run of parcel trains on 06 days i.e. 10th , 15th, 18th ,29th and 30th of April while overall punctuality maintained at excellent level of 88%.
Average speed of parcel and freight trains have also increased substantially during lockdown and NCR is could achieve average speed in excess of 50 KMPH for freight and 75KMPH for parcel trains . With more than 100% improvement in goods train average speed from earlier 23 KMPH , NCR is number one among all Zonal Railways in terms of average speed increase of FRT trains .
As per the guidelines from Ministry of Home affairs ,Railway Board has announced need based running “Sharmik Special” trains from 01.05.20, while regular passenger services are still suspended and shall be resumed only after further direction from Railway Board , however it is imperative that arrangements are in place to resume services at short notice. One of the important requirements is proper maintenance of idle coaching rakes so as any technical glitch at time of resuming services can be avoided.
North Central Railway has already put in place a proper maintenance procedure for spare coaching rakes at different originating stations. Under the implemented plan all coaching rakes are being weekly maintained and sanitized on washing lines while higher schedules of coaches are being attended in IOH sheds to avoid any backlog in periodic maintenance.
Coaching depot at Prayagraj, Kanpur, Jhansi, Gwalior and Agra on average basis are maintaining 05 rakes daily. During maintenance special attention is being given to rolling gear of coaches to avoid any problem due to very less (only shunting etc.) movement of coaches during lockdown, sanitization of coaches, special attention to bio toilets to keep it functional and properly charged with inoculum etc.
Besides maintenance of coaching rakes NCR is also actively pursuing other items like arrangement for social distancing at stations, security plan etc. which will be finalized and implemented before formal start of passenger train services.
