Severe winter fog still continues to affect rail performance in North India causing extensive delays, cancellations and re-timed services. The heavy fog especially in early mornings and late evenings has caused a dangerous level of visibility and this has compelled the Indian Railways to use trains at a slow speed to minimize the cases of accidents to passengers. Schedules are not predictable, and thousands of travellers in the state of Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Bihar are having to contend with long waiting periods. The shape of the fog has worsened, and the authorities of railroads have put emergency measures into effect, increased human resource and given travel warnings to enable people to make their trip arrangements more efficiently as part of the ongoing Latest News in India.
Fog Impact on Train Operations
The heavy fog cover has reduced visibility in some of the major junctions making operations a big challenge. Some of the most affected areas include Delhi Junction, New Delhi Railway Station, Lucknow, Kanpur, Patna, Ambala and Jaipur. Various trains are already delayed 2-7 hours, in particular, long-distance express and superfast trains of the origins in eastern and northern areas. Safety has been emphasized by the officials as the number one priority and therefore the trains are being patrolled by use of the fog safe devices as well as decreased speed to prevent accidents.
Low ridership in harsh weather conditions has recorded the highest cancellations of short-distance passenger trains and MEMU. In the meantime, other high-quality trains such as Rajdhani and Shatabadi are undergoing delays which are seldom cancelled because they are highly demanded.
Steps Taken by Indian Railways
Indian Railways has made a number of precautions to better the situation under control. Mist-lights and mist-safe apparatus have been supplied to the loco pilots so that they can work in the fog without incidents. Extra staff have been assigned in large yards to help engine drivers. Control rooms are also communicating with stations and field teams to update them in real time.
The passengers are advised to look at the NTES application and the railway call centers prior to departure to the stations. Digital display boards and automated announcements at the stations are being updated at a higher rate to make sure that travellers are provided with the relevant information about delays or cancellations. Passengers have also been asked to get to the airport early and be ready to spend long durations of time waiting since the dense fog is predicted to continue through the week.
