Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that Indian Railways has achieved an overall punctuality of 77 per cent, with 24 railway divisions recording more than 90 per cent on-time performance.

Replying to the question hours in Rajya Sabha, Ashwini Vaishnaw said the punctuality is measured by the percentage of trains arriving within the prescribed time limit and he noted that the Railways has adopted multiple strategies to improve the performance of its vast network.

He said advanced technical tools, including IT-based systems, AI-based analysis have been deployed to identify and resolve structural issues in train timetables. Providing division-wise performance details, Mr Vaishnaw said 43 divisions have achieved over 80 per cent punctuality, while one division has crossed the 95 per cent mark.

He named Madurai, Jodhpur, Hooghly, Bhavnagar, Kota, Izzatnagar, Ratlam and Ajmer among the divisions showing very high punctuality levels. The Minister acknowledged that while the current punctuality numbers are comparable with countries such as France, Germany and Italy, India should set its benchmark against Japan, which is globally known for its exceptionally high standards in railway punctuality.

Mr Vaishnaw said Indian Railways has already started adopting Japanese best practices, including 26-week forward maintenance planning, to ensure smoother and more efficient upkeep of rolling stock and infrastructure.