Which Indian train was the most punctual and most delayed in 2024?

Indian Railways, notorious for its delays, has inspired social media users to playfully expand IST (Indian Standard Time) as 'Indian Stretchable Time.' Thanks to the perpetually delayed train schedules, Indian passengers have grown accustomed to constant changes and rarely get rattled by rescheduling. Regardless, certain train services have grown to impress passengers with their punctuality. As per the most recent Indian Railway stats and insights from the real-time train update platform 'Railyatri,' the Vande Bharat Express was the most punctual train in the country in 2024. It still had a 21% increase in its delays compared to 2023. Regardless, there is apparently an 8% drop in national train delays. 

The most delayed train of the year was the Humsafar Express, though there was a 22% improvement in its performance compared to the previous year. The trains from Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Punjab improved their performances last year, while the punctuality of those from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Odisha were impacted. Meanwhile, the trial run of the Vande Bharat sleeper trains was completed today, and they are expected to hit tracks soon. The trains, unveiled in September last year, had multiple test runs on various routes in the past few months.