A social media post by Central Railways claiming improved punctuality of suburban train services has sparked sharp criticism from Mumbai's daily commuters, many of whom say the data does not reflect the ground reality.
On Thursday, Central Railways posted on microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter) stating, “Punctuality of Suburban Trains increased to 92% in July 2025 from 91% in July 2024”. The post, made at 4:22 pm, was intended to highlight a marginal improvement in train timings. However, the announcement was met with widespread skepticism and frustration from regular commuters.
In just nearly three hours, the post was viewed by around 6,700 social media users.
Responding to the post, user @NomadGRJ, a travel enthusiast, asked, “So 8% of the time your services are late, by how long tho?” — raising concerns about the extent of delays, not just their frequency.
Kharghar-based photographer Sameer Mohite was more scathing in his response. “What drug or weed are you on guys posting stuff like this? Your suburban services are always late whether it's the rainy season or not,” he wrote, reflecting a common sentiment among commuters.
Another user, @sindhibhoot, questioned the methodology behind the punctuality statistics. “They calculate punctuality like this: for example, a 7:15 am Kalyan-CSMT train starts from the platform at dot 7:15 — that’s considered 100% punctual, even though the same train might wait outside that platform for 15 minutes for a track to clear.”
Commuter Mani, who travels from Ghatkopar to Dombivli, demanded greater transparency. “Can you share the same data for AC locals? How do you check it? Please share details. Every train after 6 pm is delayed,” they posted in response.
Another X user, Vijay, alleged that Central Railway has been misrepresenting the facts. “Showing false data. Central Railway openly lying. It's more than a year that trains are running late by 15–20 minutes daily,” he wrote.
Echoing similar views, Sushant Mendon posted, “On what basis are you calculating punctuality? The one who created this report — are you even traveling by trains? This report is more applicable to your trains being delayed and crowded than punctual!”
Some responses were blunt and sarcastic. One user challenged railway officials to ride the local trains themselves, saying, " I challenge the report author to travel one day in local train and check the punctuality.”
Another user, Parik Kushwaha, dismissed the figures entirely: “What a fake! Central line trains are always 10–15 minutes late! All seasons.”
While Central Railways celebrated the 1% rise in punctuality, various questions continued to surface across social media platforms. However, as of the time of writing this report, the Railways had not responded to any of the concerns or queries raised by internet users on X.
Transport experts say the gap between official data and commuter experience often arises from how punctuality is defined — usually based on departure times rather than end-to-end journey delays.
"Until a more transparent and commuter-reflective reporting system is in place, the disconnect between official statistics and daily experience is likely to persist" said a transport expert.
