T R A N S P O R T A T I O N E N G I N E E R I N G - I IL E C T U R E 2 & 3

V I S H W E S H S I N G HA S S I S T A N T P R O F E S S O R

D E P A R T M E N T O F C I V I L E N G I N E E R I N GL N J P I T C H A P R A

STRENGTHS OF INDIAN RAILWAYS:

a) Suitability for movement of large volumes of passenger and goods traffic over long

distances.

b) Advantage of low rolling resistance, which reduces energy requirements and haulage

costs (Haulage is the business of transporting goods by road or rail.)

c) More efficient than roadways in terms of land use.

d) Relatively less environmental pollution than roadways.

e) In densely populated urban centres, a rapid transit rail-based system is the most

appropriate mode of transport. Ex- Metro rail.

f) Well-established organization with a large pool of skilled and trained personnel.

g) Has the Government’s financial backing.

WEAKNESSES OF INDIAN RAILWAYS

a) A large portion of the railway’s infrastructure is overaged, and in urgent need of replacement

or rehabilitation. This includes track, rolling stock, signalling, operational, and maintenance

equipment.

b) In certain parts of the infrastructure, the technology is 20–25 years behind some of the

developed railway systems. Consequently, the productivity levels are comparatively low.

c) Indian Railways has a large force of unskilled manpower. The training facilities need

modernization.

d) In certain areas, pilferage (the action of stealing things of little value) and vandalism (action involving deliberate

destruction of or damage to public or private property.) seriously affect operational efficiency.

e) Railways are not suited for carriage of small quantities of freight particularly over short

distances.

f) Heavy investments are needed to build up railway transport capacity and the gestation (परियोजनापिूी होने की अवधि )periods are long.

g) Transport capacity is volatile and cannot be recouped if not utilized continuously.

RAILWAY TRACK GAUGES

• Gauge is measured as the clear minimum distance between the running faces of the two rails.

• In European countries, the gauge is measured between the inner faces of the two rails at a point 14 mm

below the top of the rail.

DIFFERENT GAUGES ON INDIAN RAILWAYS:

Name of gauge Width (mm) Width (feet) Route, Kms % of route Km

Broad gauge (BG 1676 5'6" 39,612 63.2

Metre gauge (MG 100 3'3.37" 19,210 30.7

Narrow gauge

(NG)762 2'6" 3838 6.1

610 2'0"

CHOICE OF GAUGE

• The following factors theoretically influence the choice of the gauge.

a) Cost Considerations: There is only a marginal increase in the cost of the track if a wider gauge is adopted. In this connection,the following points are important:

i. proportional increase in the cost of acquisition of land, earthwork, rails, sleepers, ballast, and other track items whenconstructing a wider gauge.

ii. cost of building bridges, culverts, and tunnels increases only marginally due to a wider gauge.

iii. cost of constructing station buildings, platforms, staff quarters, level crossings, signals, etc. associated with the railway

network is more or less the same for all gauges.

iv. cost of rolling stock is independent of the gauge of the track for carrying the same volume of traffic.

b) Traffic Considerations: The volume of traffic depends upon the size of wagons and the speed and hauling capacity of the train.

i. As a wider gauge can carry larger wagons and coaches, it can theoretically carry more traffic.

ii. A wider gauge has a greater potential at higher speeds.

c) Physical Features of the Country: It is possible to adopt steeper gradients and sharper curves for a narrow gauge as comparedto a wider gauge.

d) Uniformity of Gauge: The existence of a uniform gauge in a country enables smooth, speedy, and efficient operation of trains.

PROBLEMS CAUSED BY CHANGE OF GAUGE:

• (a) Inconvenience to Passengers: Due to change of gauge, passengers have to change trainsmid-journey along-with their luggage, which causes inconvenience.

a) Climbing stairs and crossing bridges

b) Finding seats in the compartments of the later trains

c) Missing connections with the later trains in case the earlier train is late

d) Transporting luggage

e) Uncertainty and delay in reaching the destination

• (b) Difficulty in Trans-shipment of Goods: Goods have to be trans-shipped at the point wherethe change of gauge takes place.

a) Damage to goods during trans-shipment

b) Theft or misplacement of goods during trans-shipment and the subsequent claims.

c) Considerable delay in receipt of goods at the destination

• (c) Inefficient Use of Rolling Stock: As wagons have to move empty in the direction of the trans-

shipment point, they are not fully utilized.

• (d) Hindrance to Fast Movement of Goods and Passenger Traffic: Due to change in the gauge, traffic

cannot move fast which becomes a major problem particularly during emergencies such as war, floods,

and accidents

• (e) Additional Facilities at Stations and Yards:

a) Costly sheds and additional facilities need to be provided for handling the large volume of goods at

trans-shipment points.

b) Duplicate equipment and facilities such as yards and platforms need to be provided for both gauges at

trans-shipment points.

• (f) Difficulties in Balanced Economic Growth

BENEFITS OF ADOPTING BG (1676 MM) AS THE UNIFORM GAUGE

The uni-gauge system will be highly beneficial to rail users, the railway administration, as well as to the nation as

described below.

• No Transport Bottlenecks: lead to improved operational efficiency resulting in fast movement of goods and

passengers.

• No Trans-shipment Hazards: no hazards of trans-shipment and as such no delays, no damage to goods, no

inconvenience to passengers of transfer from one train to another train.

• Provisions of Alternate Routes: alternate routes will be available for free movement of traffic and there

will be less pressure on the existing BG network.

• Better Turnround:There will be a better turnround of wagons and locomotives, and their usage will improve

the operating ratio of the railway system as a whole.

• Improved Utilization of Track:There will be improved utilization of tracks and reduction in the operating

expenses of the railway.

• Balanced Economic Growth:

• Better Transport Infrastructure:Some of the areas served by the MG have the potential of becoming highly

industrialized; skilled manpower is also available. The uni-gauge policy will help in providing these areas a better

transportation infrastructure.

CLASSIFICATION OF RAILWAY LINES IN INDIA

• The Railway Board has classified the railway lines in India based on the importance of the route, the traffic

carried, and the maximum permissible speed on the route.

• Broad Gauge Routes: - All the broad gauge (BG) routes of Indian Railways have been classified into five

different groups based on speed criteria

• Group A lines:These lines are meant for a sanctioned speed of 160 km/h. Ex- New Delhi to Howrah by

Rajdhani route

• Group B lines: These lines are meant for a sanctioned speed of 130 kmph. Ex- Ambala Cantt–Ludhiana–

Pathankot

• Group C lines: These lines are meant for suburban sections of Mumbai, Kolkata, and Delhi

• Group D and D Spl lines: These lines are meant for sections where the maximum sanctioned speed is 100

km/h.

• Group E and E Spl lines: These lines are meant for other sections and branch lines.

# Sanctioned Speed: This is the maximum permissible speed authorized by the commissioner of railway safety. This is determined

after an analysis of the condition of the track, the standard of interlocking, the type of locomotive and rolling stock used, and other such

factors.

Metre Gauge Routes

• Depending upon the importance of routes, traffic carried, and maximum permissible speed, the metre

gauge (MG) tracks of Indian Railways were earlier classified into three main categories, namely, trunk

routes, main lines, and branch lines. These track standards have since been revised and now the MG routes

have been classified as Q, R1, R2, R3, and S routes.

• Q routes: Routes with a maximum permissible speed of more than 75 kmph. The traffic density is

generally more than 2.5 GMT [gross million tonne(s) per km/annum].

• R routes Routes with a speed potential of 75 kmph and a traffic density of more than 1.5 GMT. R routes

(i) R1—traffic density more than 5 GMT

(ii) R2—traffic density between 2.5 and 5 GMT

(iii) R3—traffic density between 1.5 and 2.5 GMT

• S routes Routes with a speed potential of less than 75 kmph and a traffic density of less than 1.5 GMT

RAIL INDIA TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC SERVICES LTD (RITES)• The Rail India Technical Economic Services Ltd (RITES), a Government of India Undertaking, provides

consultancy services on all aspects of the Railways from concept to completion.

• RITES is a multidisciplinary, ISO 9001: 2000 certified consultancy organization in the field of

transportation infrastructure and related technologies.

• It is a Mini Ratna Company and provides consultancy services from concept to commissioning in the

fields of railways, urban transport, urban development and urban engineering, roads and highways,

airports, ropeways, inland waterways, ports and harbors, information technology, and export packages of

rolling stock and railway-related equipment.

• Its diversified device packages include among others, feasibility, design and detailed engineering,

multimodal transport studies, project management and construction supervision, quality assurance and

management, materials management, workshop management, operations and maintenance, system

engineering, economic and financial evolution, financing plan and privatization, property development,

railway electrification, signalling and telecommunication, environment impact assessment, and training

and human resources development.

INDIAN RAILWAYS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LTD

• IRCON International Ltd, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways, was incorporated in

1976 as an Indian Railway construction company

• IRCON is in the ideal position to undertake the entire spectrum of construction activities concerning the

various railway disciplines—civil, mechanical, electrical, signalling, telecommunications, etc

• IRCON diversified its activities in 1985 to other sectors such as roads, highways, expressways, road

bridges, flyovers, cable stayed bridges, mass rapid transit systems, buildings, industrial and residential

complexes, airports, and hangers.

• Presently, IRCON is listed 128th amongst the top 225 international construction contractors, and is

amongst the top ten in Engineering News-Record mass transit and rail rankings (published by McGraw-

Hill).

• IRCON is an ISO 9002 certified construction company and has completed projects in Algeria, Angola,

Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Italy, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Syria,

Tanzania, Turkey, United Kingdom, and Zambia.

Container Corporation of India Ltd

• Container Corporation of India Ltd (CONCOR) was incorporated in March 1988 under the Companies Act 1956 as a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Railways.

• It was set up to promote, provide for, and manage multimodal transport in the country with the prime objective to support the country’s growing international trade as well as for the transport of domestic cargo in containers by adopting the latest technology and practices.

• The four specific areas identified under this strategy are total logistics solutions, cold chain, coastal shipping, and extension of intermodal services to neighbouring countries.

Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd

• Rail Vikas Nigam Limitd (RVNL) is a special purpose organization set up to execute two vital components ofNational Rail Vikas Yojna launched by the Government of India. Its main objectives are to undertake projects ofdevelopment, financial resource mobilization, and execution of projects on a commercial basis using largelynon–budgetary funds. These projects are expected to remove capacity bottlenecks on the golden quadrilateral(railway line connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata) and its diagonals and to augment portconnectivity. RVNL is expected to take up only bankable projects which can attract market funding withoutGovernment guarantee