Vaishnaw Declares Historic Turnaround as Indian Trains Achieve Record On-Time Performance

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stunned the Rajya Sabha on Friday by declaring that Indian Railways has achieved an overall punctuality rate of 80 percent, a figure he asserted is higher than that of several established European railway systems and represents one of the most dramatic operational turnarounds in the history of the national transporter.

Speaking during Question Hour, the minister revealed that an extraordinary 70 railway divisions across the country have already surpassed the 90 percent punctuality mark, attributing the breakthrough to relentless focus on track maintenance, removal of thousands of speed restrictions, elimination of unmanned level crossings, and the introduction of cutting-edge monitoring technologies that allow real-time track every train’s movement.

Vaishnaw underlined that these gains are not accidental but the result of sustained capital investment, disciplined crew management, and systemic reforms implemented over the past decade, transforming Indian Railways from a symbol of chronic delays into a network now delivering reliability levels that rival or exceed many developed nations in Western Europe is known for.

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In response to concerns about regional development, the minister highlighted the unprecedented financial push for Uttar Pradesh, pointing out that the annual railway budget allocation for the state has risen exponentially from a paltry Rs 100 crore before 2014 to historic multi-thousand-crore figures, enabling rapid electrification, doubling of lines, station modernisation, and construction of critical safety infrastructure.

He also informed the House that the ministry has developed and pre-approved over 100 standardised designs for road over-bridges and under-bridges to slash approval timelines from years to months, while culturally important stations like Ballia have seen their connectivity soar with 82 daily train services now operating to honour the region’s historical significance.

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