Price of political halt on tracks: 24K for 2 minutes

Kolkata: To get a stoppage for a long-distance train at an insignificant station, all that is needed is a "sit-in protest" by a local leader and his supporters, who have to squat on the tracks for a while. For years, the railways has succumbed to such pressure tactics and announced halts at stations that generate little or no revenue, citing its "social obligation" as a reason.But things are set to change with the railway ministry calculating exactly how much it costs to stop a mail/express train for two minutes and asking general managers to reassess the halts.
The cost analysis exercise has been carried out for trains hauled by both diesel as well as electric locomotives and the results shows that amount differs, depending on the number of coaches. For instance, it would cost the railways Rs 24,506 to stop a diesel locomotive 24-coach mail/express train with an average booked speed of 120 kmph for two minutes. For a similar train of 18 coaches, the cost is Rs 23,578. But for a train with 20 coaches, with an average booked speed of 100 kmph, the railways has to spend Rs 21,207 for a two-minute halt. The costs are lower when the train is hauled by an electric locomotive.
"Under Suresh Prabhu, the cost-benefit analysis of all operations are being undertaken, something which has never happened before. We have looked at punctuality loss and other factors, but never considered how much it costs to allow a new stoppage. In the end, we ended up allowing stoppages at stations where only a handful of persons alighted or boarded trains. There were political considerations in many cases. In some cases, stoppages were allowed for mail/express trains as there were demands from people who travel with unreserved tickets in general classes. No heed was paid to the losses," a senior railway officer said. A case in point is the Howrah-Tatanagar Steel Express. When it was introduced, the only stoppages between Howrah and Tatanagar were Kharagpur and Jhargram. Now, it also halts at Sardiha, Chakulia, Ghatsila and Rakha Mines. The railway officer pointed out that Sardiha is less than 24km from Kharagpur and Chakulia merely 29km from Jhargram. Besides, there are other passenger trains linking these stations. In this manner, stoppages have been added to trains without much thought, he said. But for Steel, the costs are less as it is hauled by an electric locomotive. In the case of electric haulage, the railways has to spend Rs 12,717 for a 2-minute halt of an 18-coach train. This goes up to Rs 12,820 and Rs 13,132 for 20- and 24-coach trains.
"With the railways passing through a financial crisis, the aim is to bring cut down on costs as much as possible. There is a system in place for grading stations based on the number of tickets sold every day. Mail/express trains were originally not given stoppages at stations that didn't generate enough revenue from ticket sales. Over the years, it changed. Railway ministers had political considerations and gave in to demands for new stoppages. Sometimes, local MPs and MLAs exert pressure on zonal railway bosses and threaten agitations. Earlier, we had nothing to show when the leaders asked what it would cost to stop a train for two minutes. Now, we have the figures," another official said.