Chandigarh: Winter fog didn’t just blur the skyline this season — it threw Northern Railway off track, delaying one in every eight express trains and forcing cancellations across key routes. Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha that 12.1% of express services under Northern Railway lost punctuality despite a battery of visibility-boosting tech and safety measures.In a reply to a query raised by Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari, the minister said fog and climate-related conditions affect all modes of transport, including rail, road and air. Given that the railway network spans across multiple districts and states, trains operate across varying climatic zones. While Indian Railways makes every effort to maintain scheduled operations, dense fog during winter months often leads to delays, cancellations and partial cancellations.Vaishnaw said approximately 2.7% of scheduled mail/express trains on the Northern Railway network were cancelled due to fog.On the North-western Railway network, which serves areas such as Hisar and Hansi, about 0.8% of scheduled mail/express trains were cancelled during the same period. Additionally, 12.1 per cent of Express trains on Northern Railway and 4.4 per cent of Mail/Express trains on North-western Railway experienced loss of punctuality due to fog.To mitigate the impact of poor visibility and enhance operational safety, Indian Railways implemented multiple safety measures. A key initiative was the deployment of a global positioning system (GPS)-based portable ‘Fog Safe Device’ (FSD), provided to loco pilots. The device displays advance information about critical landmarks such as approaching signals, level crossing gates and permanent speed restrictions, enabling safer train operations during low-visibility conditions. As of Dec 31, 2025, a total of 29,489 Fog Safe Devices were available across Indian Railways.In addition, electrical and electronic interlocked signalling systems with absolute or automatic block working were installed to ensure safe and smooth train operations. On the Delhi-Chandigarh section, Modified Semi-Automatic Stop Signals were introduced within the automatic signalling system to minimise delays during fog.
