Hyderabad: Mismanagement by the South Central Railway after the collision of the Lingampalli-Faluknuma MMTS train with the Hundry Express on Monday morning could have been the reason for massive delays across the rail network.
One of the worst affected trains was the Kongu Express that operates between Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) and Hazrat Nizamuddin (Delhi). The train was behind the Hundry Express when the accident occurred on Monday. It was sent back to Dhone in Kurnool district, and diverted via Raichur on to its original route to Kazipet.
The train was scheduled to reach Kazipet at 1.18 pm on Monday but reached there at 9:11 am on Tuesday, delayed by nearly 20 hours.
Addition to SCR mismanagement story
The SCR on Tuesday said the Kacheguda-Repalle train would originate from Secunderabad instead of from Kacheguda. However, in the afternoon, when it became clear that long-distance services would be resumed, the SCR tweeted that the train would originate from Kacheguda but with a three- hour delay (at 12.10 am). However, the messages in a short span of time put many passengers in a dilemma.
Another train that was delayed by a long time was the Yeswantpur-Kacheguda Express. The train was scheduled to arrive at Kacheguda at 5 am on Tuesday but reached only at 2.10 pm, delayed by over nine hours.
Sasidhar Uppuluri, a member of a Rail Users Association based in Guntur, said the SCR could have managed the situation better. In the case of the Kongu Express, he suggested that the train could have been diverted onto its original route via Gadwal and Raichur.
“Since the train was backtracked all the way to Dhone, it travelled an extra 298 km over the regular distance. Had the train been taken through Gadwal-Raichur, it would have travelled only 57 km more,” he said.
Mr Uppuluri admitted that there were some complications with this idea. “Drivers are not permitted to operate trains on particular routes without prior experience. However, since many trains were cancelled due to the collision, the authorities could have identified the pilots who could operate on the Gadwal-Raichur route. It was a simple matter of logistics,” he said.
Due to the apparent lack of coordination between various railway divisions, commuters in other parts of the region too were affected. For instance, the train from Repalle to Secunderabad was delayed by over two hours. The train had come to Repalle after a journey in the opposite direction.
It would have been logical to assume that since this journey was delayed, the reverse journey too would be delayed. But the SCR reportedly did not announce this and said it would be business as usual from Repalle.
Many commuters use the train to go to Guntur, but since it was delayed, they had to make other arrangements.
“There seems to be some communication gap between various zones and regions within SCR. Someone in the operations department should ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page. Some of the delays that happened on Monday and Tuesday were clearly avoidable,” Mr Uppuluri said.
Another explanation for this mismanagement could have been that the authorities were caught up in rescue operations to save the trapped loco-pilot at Kacheguda station, he added.
“We cannot say it was negligence by SCR authorities. But they definitely could have handled it better. At some places it was prudent to tell the passengers to get down and find other means of transport. For instance, a train coming into Hyderabad being stopped at Shadnagar for several hours makes no sense. The passengers could have been asked to use a bus instead of being made to sit for two or three hours in a train,” Mr Uppuluri pointed out.
