Why do trains sometimes halt at stations or other points not marked as halts in the published timetables?
Apart from unscheduled or emergency stops, there are a number of technical halts provided in the operation of most trains. These are halts for the purposes of changing loco crew, changing locomotives, picking up food or water, etc. These halts do not show up on the normal published timetables, but they do appear in the working timetable which is used by the crew. Example — The 2141/42 Kurla-Patna Superfast Express has many stops for operational/technical reasons, but only two commercial ones. It needs to halt at Kasara to attach bankers, at Igatpuri to detach bankers and change the locomotive, at Bhusaval for a crew change, at Itarsi for a locomotive change, at Satna for a crew change and to take on food, and at Chheoki for staff purposes. On the return trip to Mumbai, the Kasara halt is skipped by 2142 as bankers are not required downhill. If a train makes good time on its journey and arrives early at a station, it will sometimes be detained at a point well outside the station limits
