The ECoR has urged its passengers to bear with the difficulties as trains like Rajdhani, Duronto, Sampark Kranti, Purusottam, Utkal, Nandankanan, Hirakud Express were delayed due to dense fog in north India, especially in Delhi.
Many trains are now being rescheduled and will run on changed timings. Passengers have been urged to refer to helpline enquiry phone 139 to know the current status of their trains.
Rescheduling of trains would also be announced in the media from time to time. East Coast Railway has already alerted its maintenance staff to be ready for the workload of trains that would be coming out of schedule. Railways have stepped up monitoring 24X7 the running of trains and a special drive has now been started with the onset of the winter season and prevalence of fog in the morning hours.
The ECoR has geared up its manpower to cope with the dense fog during night and early morning in various railway sections under its jurisdiction and in the areas prone to be affected by fog and precautions have been taken regarding train running during the current winter season.
In dense fog weather, drivers have been instructed to regulate train speed depending on visibility conditions for the safety of passengers and train movement.
In areas prone to dense fog, luminous and fluorescent strips have been painted in OHE (Overhead Equipment) masts, level crossings and at busy traffic areas before an approaching “Stop Signal” to warn the loco pilot that the train is approaching a stop signal and running in sensitive areas.
The ECoR Safety Department has given instructions to accord highest priority for safe train running during foggy weather. In automatic signal territory, the maximum speed of a train is restricted to 30kmph and in absolute block territory the speed is restricted to 60kmph in dense fog, said an ECoR release.