RailEnquiry

To ensure safe running of trains in foggy conditions, South Eastern Railway (SER) has issued special instructions for its loco drivers. Officials at SER's Garden Reach headquarters today said loco drivers have been given the authority to run a train at a speed which they deemed fit in a foggy zone, thereby reducing any risk of mishap. "The speed shall in any case not be more than 60kmph. The drivers have also been advised to blow the whistle frequently to warn nearby gatemen and commuters of an approaching train," said an official spokesperson of SER from Calcutta. For more than a week, the punctuality of mail, express and superfast trains running in two divisions of South Eastern Railway ' Chakradharpur and Ranchi ' have been affected due to dense fog in the mornings and in the evenings, inconveniencing thousands of passengers. Confirming the development, senior divisional commercial manager of Chakradharpur railway division K.N. Biswas said, "Drivers have been authorised to regulate train speed in areas prone to fog at night and early morning, depending on visibility conditions. The move is aimed at ensuring safety of passengers and risk-free movement of trains. He added that similar initiatives had also been taken at two other divisions ' Kharagpur and Adra. A senior railway official at Garden Reach said at places the visibility in the morning reduced to 200-250 metres. Railway authorities revealed that in fog prone areas, luminous and fluroscent strips had been painted on overhead equipment mast before an approaching Stop signal to warn drivers that the train was approaching a signal. Guards have been advised to use flasher lamps during the day and also during fog. Statistics available from Garden Reach revealed that the total number of long distance mail/express trains which had run late on account of dense fog in South Eastern Railway zone during the last 10-days was 118. During the same period last year, the number of trains that lost out on punctuality was only 44. The major sections where there has been thick fog this season have been Howrah-Kharagpur, Kharagpur-Bhadrak, Kharagpur-Tatanagar and Midnapore-Adra sections.