As being Indian we all know that almost every special train of the Indian railway gets delayed. It’s fine if you have a confirmed ticket for a regular train; however, if you don’t, it doesn’t matter if a special train is delayed or not; you’ll be forced to board the same as a last-minute choice.
Here are a few possible reasons for the delay
Second preference: Because it is difficult to handle the additional trains when a regular train and a special train are both waiting at a signal, the regular train will inevitably be given priority to pass through. Hence, special trains have to wait for their turn to move forward and due to this, the train gets delayed.
Forced inclusions: Special trains are announced in the last minutes to avoid the rush. Due to this, it becomes very difficult for Indian railway to manage these trains with proper planning. The station masters, for their part, are having difficulty fitting these extra trains into the daily schedule.
Over utilization of the coaches: Every zone is under constant pressure to send a special train to as many locations as possible; but, they only have a limited number of train coaches (which, when combined, form a whole train) at their disposal. The running schedules of these coaches are often jam-packed in order to maximise the number of sites where the special train can be deployed. Train delays in one city might cause unrecoverable delays on trains in other cities. Train delays in one city might cause non – recoverable delays on trains in other cities.
Goodwill doesn’t matter: Regular trains run all year, thus the railway authorities care about their performance ratings. Special trains, on the other hand, run for a limited period of time and complaints against them have little impact on the entire system.
Shortage of staff: Because the special trains are announced on such short notice, there is usually a shortage of resources to handle the extra intake of trains. To run the extra coaches, railways, for example, require more guards, TT, and other personnel. As a result, a primary factor for these trains’ delays is a shortfall of staff.
Now that you know the facts about special train you want to think again before traveling in special train. So, it is advisable to to make your plans in advance and try to avoid special trains.