Chapter-20

The Majesty of the Indian Railways

The emerging trends in civil Engineering construction on Railways:-

1. Project management- Planning and organising, enunciating method statement, procedures and sequencing for different activities. Works program, Bar-Bending-Schedule, Continuous monitoring of the progress and updating schedule. Third party inspection for quality assurance. Project Management Consultant (PMC)

2. Materials- Steel is still a popular material because of its strength, durability and cost effectiveness. For Prestressed and RCC construction Ready-Mix-Concrete (M40 & above), High yield strength (Fe 500) TMT bars, 3-ply HTS wires, Strip seal expansion joint, Elastomeric bearing & POT-PTFE bearing are common.

3. Resource management- Adherence to labour laws and statutory provisions.

Machinery & Plants intervention resolve mundane tasks with ease & increased safety -- Batching plant, Transit mixers, concrete pump, Hydraulic excavator & bulldozer, Hydra crane, Pile rig , Truck-Mounted-Rig, Hyva tipper, road roller, Plate vibrator, Hot mix plant for mastic asphalt & bitumen concrete, Asphalt paver. Tunnel-Boring-Machine, Launching-gantry for placing precast girders/segments.

(iv) Management of ‘Engineering Procurement & Construction’ (EPC) contracts-- It has become rational with introduction of clauses on Performance guarantee, Mobilisation advance, Contractor’s-All-Risk policy, subcontracts, Integrity test of piles, Milestones, Variation in BOQ, Price Variation, Analysis of rate for N.S. items, ‘Order of priority’ of the tender documents in case of ambiguity & inconsistencies, Defect liability period, resolving disputes & differences.

Some of the engineering marvels on the India

(a) The longest rail tunnel (11.21 kms) viz Pir Panjal tunnel on USB rail line. (b)The highest rail bridge -359m above Chenab river bed on USB rail line. (c)First cable-stayed railway bridge (Ajni Khad)-of main span 290 m on USB line. (d) New Pamban rail bridge with first ever vertical-lift span(72m)

Railway architecture- There is revival of interest in the architecture and aesthetics. A new style has evolved with experimentation, elements of local architectural tradition and changing organisational needs. Cuttack station building replicates ramparts of an ancient fort. Agartalla station building is modelled on a palace. Rail-sadan at Bhubneshwar is built in contemporary style with green features.

The reorganization of railways-The Railway Board was restructured in 2019. Simultaneously there was merger of different cadres into a central service Indian Railways Management Service.

Restoration of railway finance to General finance- Following the recommendations of the Acworth Committee, the Railway finance was separated from the General finance in 1924. Hitherto the Railway paid an annual contribution (Dividend) to the General Revenue for its Capital-at-large of commercial lines (as different from strategic lines and unremunerative branch lines). This rate was fixed and reviewed by the Railway Convention Committee. For quite some time, it was around 6 %. Considering the element of the depreciation and uncertainty, a remunerative railway project must show a Rate of Return of above 8 % . The Railway budget was presented in Parliament advance of General budget. The last one was in 2016. It was merged with the General budget in 2017-18 assuring the House that the functional autonomy of the Railway would be upheld. Railways will no longer have to pay Dividend ( about Rs 10,000 crores annually) to the General Revenue while it continues to get Gross budgetary support for the capital expenditure.

The majesty of the Indian railways- The Indian railways have been defining and shaping the destiny of the country since its inception in 1853. Presently their greatest utilization lies in the transport of large volume of heavy and bulk commodities over long distances and in very long journeys of passengers with reliability, safety, comfort and speed. The railways are engine of growth for our national economy. It is difficult to perceive growth of India without a corresponding growth in the railway infrastructure. Starting with 54,000 route km of track and a fleet of overaged stock after Independence ,as of 2024-25 the IR is the fourth-largest state undertaking (after China, Russia and USA) under a single management. It boasts of a network of 69181 route kms of track and about 1.3 million workforce. With its fleet of 91948 passenger coaches ,327991 freight wagons and 15110 locomotives , today it runs over 13,198 passenger trains and 11724 freight trains daily covering 7325 stations cutting across amongst all the states. On administrative and operational consideration the number of zones grew from 9 in 1966 to 16 in 2003.The Increase in the number of Divisions during the corresponding period was from 59 to 67. The government is committed to electrifying the entire BG rail network in a couple of years . The level crossings which are potential hazards to the safety of trains as well as to road users are programmed for systematic elimination by about the same period through replacement by limited height underpass, ROBs and road diversion. Railway’s big dreams include upgradation of ageing assets, improving quality of service, joining high-speed rail league of nations, scaling solar power and inviting private rail operators to run trains on its network. The IR targetted 830 crores passengers in 2024-25 which figure is likely to touch 1200 crores by 2031. Similarly the originating freight loading estimated at 1600 million tonnes in 2024-25 is destined to touch 3500 million tonnes by 2031. Rail transport is 6 times more energy efficient compared to road transport because of low resistance to forward motion of steel wheels on steel rails (coefficient of friction=0.18) as against high resistance of rubber tyre wheels on concrete road (coefficient of friction=1.00). Since the train moves in a convoy the front and the rear elements of aerodynamic resistance get distributed over them. Because of Right-of-Way with programmed movement ,the unintended stops and slowdowns ,which result in waste of energy, are few. Accordingly the operating performance ie, unit carrying capacity and Nett tonne km per vehicle hour is high. Railway requires narrow width of land. A single track can carry as much traffic as 10 lanes of an Expressway. Train accidents are few and rarely serious. While the loss of lives in road accidents in India exceed one lakh in a year. Being increasingly reliant on electric traction rail transport is environmentally friendly. Despite this obvious superiority of the national carrier, it is starved of funds while paradoxically substantial funds are available for construction of new roads and widening of the existing ones. No matter if precious cultivable lands are sacrificed, trees are mercilessly felled, the environment is polluted , consumption of scarce Hydrocarbons shoots up and human lives are exposed to danger in this process. The IR have also the social responsibility of being an affordable carrier of people and goods. These include losses on suburban services, pricing of passenger fare below cost, concession in passenger fare to various categories of people and essential commodities carried below cost. There is no subsidy for discharging such social obligations On the other hand they are expected to play the role of a profit making commercial enterprise. Many financially unremunerative projects with low ROR and even with negative ROR were sanctioned on ‘developmental consideration’ vitiating the financial performance of the Railway. The misery was compounded by the reluctance of the Ministers to increase the passenger fare, as increasing freight charges was considered safer ,no matter such a step resulted in rise in prices of essential commodities. Not unexpectedly the Operating ratio of the railway has gone above 98 percent implying high Revenue expenditure. This hardly leaves any scope for growth & expansion from Internal Revenue. Funding & monitoring of Railway projects--Of over 500 projects, the Railway has identified those of super critical and critical nature because of the following features. (i) Projects on capacity augmentation on ‘High-Density’ and ‘High Utilisation’ network route, (ii) Multi tracking projects (iii) Connectivity projects. (iv) National projects. Sufficient funds have been made available for their completion in a couple of years. These projects are accorded utmost priority and attention is given at the highest level .

Sustainable rail freight operations- The IR has also embarked upon its largest infrastructure project viz Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) meant for exclusive operation of “Double stack, long haul container trains” at a maximum speed of 100 kmph on its Diamond quadrilateral and diagonals. With higher axle loads wagons, superior track, more powerful locomotives, modern signalling and higher speed the Railway is set to carry 30 % more payload traffic per train, thereby reducing the unit cost of operation and reducing the tariff for the customers. With the enhancement of throughput, the railway hopes to increase its share of traffic from the present 30 % to 40 % in the coming years. Currently the work is in advance stage of progress on Eastern DFC (Ludhiana-SoneNagar-1337 kms) & Western DFC ( Navi Mumbai-Dadri-1506 kms). The DFC designed to ensure interruption free connectivity with multi-modal logistics hubs and planned interface with the existing IR network is seen as a game-changer for the country. Freight Operations Information System (FOIS) manages daily movement of 4 million tonnes freight which generates 340 crores earnings. For first mile-last mile services, development of 100 cargo terminals under ‘Gati Shakti Multi- Modal Cargo Terminal policy’ has been planned. Managing passenger trains operation-(i) Semi-high speed routes-Upgradation of speed upto 160 kmph on Delhi-Howrah route & Delhi-Mumbai routes and 130 kmph on other sides & diagonals of the Diamond quadrilateral has been envisioned for operation of T-18 train sets. Vande Bharat Express are progressively being introduced on them for operation at a maximum speed of 160 kmph. (ii) High speed routes-8 dedicated corridors have been identified for running of Bullet trains at a maximum speed of 320 kmph on Standard-Gauge track . Construction is under way on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route (508 km) using Shinkansen technology from Japan. Aerial-ground survey is in progress on Delhi-Varanasi route (865 km). The railway is targeting fast growing bourgeoning middle class by augmenting the speed of passenger trains and introducing superfast trains using luxury coaches with plush upholstery, diffused lighting ,charging points for mobiles & laptops, GPS antenna and Wi-Fi. (iii) Passenger Information System is fulfilling daily ticketing needs of 2 crores passengers both on-line and at PRS counters.

Upgradation of stations--IR is also seized with the idea of modernization of selected stations on Public-Private-Partnership mode. Once the projects are completed the refurbished stations will not only boast a swanky make-over but also multiple passenger-friendly facilities. Purposed skywalks, foot overbridges and subways are being provided to give seamless connectivity to the adjacent metro stations and settlements. With introduction of bio-toilets in trains the station premises are cleaner. The waiting rooms are inviting. Food and beverage options are more as stalls of varying description have sprung up. There is greater awareness amongst rail users also. Technological upgrades- These include introduction of LHB coaches with advanced safety features & speed potential of 200 kmph, new generation of freight wagons with optimized structural design & higher payload, Electric locomotives with speed potential of 200 kmph for passenger trains & 100 kmph for heavy freight trains, implementation of Electronic Interlocking and Train collision Avoiding system. Tracks on critical routes are modernized for running of high axle load and high speed rolling stock. Use of 260 m long rail panels reduces needs for welds enhancing safety. Track laying and maintenance is done by track-machines with unmatched output, speed, accuracy and efficiency. The riding quality of track is monitored with electronic track recording cum research cars. In summary- The Indian Railways’ spirit to upgrade its infrastructure and services to improve the passenger experience and operational efficiency is set to transform the transportation landscape of India. The synergy of individual, industry and investment is modernizing the Indian Railways. The National carrier must stay solvent. Sources: (1) History of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway ,Part 1 by S.N.Sharma

(2) The National Rail Museum, York-publication

(3) Railway Engineering School, Derby-publication

(4) Rise and fall of Ara Sasaram Light Railway by Vidyut Prakash Maurya

(5) Literature displayed in the National Rail Museum, New Delhi.

(6) Input from Terry Boden of England