Railway Engineering (CL- 410)

Reference Copy 1
Reference Copy 2
 Reference Books
• Railway engineering
By: Satish Chandra & M.M. Agarwal (Oxford University Press)

• A Text Book Of Railway Engineering

By, S.C. Saxena & S.P. Arora (Dhanpat rai publications)

• Practical Railway Engineering

By, Clifford F. Bonnett (Imperial college press)

Reference Copy 3
Railway Engineering (CL- 410)

> Chapter:1
> Introduction

Reference Copy 4
 Outline
• What is Transportation?
• Modes of transportation
• Rail transportation
• Historical background / Development
• Indian Railways
• Standing of rail transportation in India and world

Reference Copy 5
 Transportation
• Transportation is the movement of people, animals
and goods from one location to another.

Reference Copy 6
Different Modes of Transport

Reference Copy 7
 Different Modes of Transport
• Rail transport Owing to the heavy expenditure on the basic
infrastructure required, rail transport is best suited for
carrying bulk commodities and a large number of passengers
over long distances.

• Road transport Owing to flexibility of operation and the

ability to provide door to door service, road transport is
ideally suited for carrying light commodities and a small
number of passengers over short distances.
Reference Copy 8
 Different Modes of Transport
• Air transport Owing to the heavy expenditure on the
sophisticated equipment required and the high fuel costs, air
transport is better suited for carrying passengers or goods
that have to reach their destinations in a very short period of
time.
• Water transport Owing to low cost of infrastructure and
relatively slow speeds, water transport is best suited for
carrying heavy and bulky goods over long distances, provided
there is no consideration of the time factor.
Reference Copy 9
 Railway as a Mode of Land Transport
• There are two modes of land transport, railways and roads,
and each has its relative advantages and disadvantages.
These have been summarized in table below:
Features Rail Transport Road Transport
Tractive The movement of steel wheels on steel rails has The tractive resistance of a pneumatic tyre on
resistance basic advantage of low rolling resistance. This metalled roads is almost five times compared
reduces haulage costs because of low tractive to that of wheel on rails.
resistance.
Right of entry A railway track is defined on two rails and is within Roads, though having well-defined limits, can
protected limits. Trains work as per a prescribed be used by any vehicular traffic and even by
schedule and no other vehicle has the right of pedestrians they are open to all.
entry except at specified level crossings.
Reference Copy 10
 Railway as a Mode of Land Transport
Features Rail Transport Road Transport

Cost analysis Owing to the heavy infrastructure, the initial as The cost of construction and maintenance of
well as maintenance cost of a railway line is high. roads is comparatively cheaper.
Gradients and curves The gradients of railway tracks are flatter Roads are constructed normally with steeper
(normally not more than 1 in 100) and curves gradients of up to 1 in 30 and relatively much
are limited up to only 100 on broad gauge. sharper curves.
Flexibility of Due to the defined routes and facilities required Roads transports have much more flexibility in
movement for the reception and dispatch of trains, railway movement and can provide door to door
can be used only between fixed points. services.
Environmental Railway has minimum adverse effects on the Road transport creates comparatively greater
pollution environment. pollution than the railways.
Organization and Railways are government undertakings, with Barring member state government transport,
control their own organization. road transport is managed by private sector.
Suitability Railways are best suited for carrying heavy goods Road transport is best suited for carrying
and large number of passengers over long lighter goods and smaller number of
distances. Reference Copy passengers over short distances. 11
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 12
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 13
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 14
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 15
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 16
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 17
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 18
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 19
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 20
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 21
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 22
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 23
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 24
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 25
Historical Development of Indian Railways

Reference Copy 26
 Historical Development of Indian Railways
2007
• Jan. 1: Trial run of the Neral-Matheran NG train from Neral to Jummapatti following reconstruction of
the railway line that was washed away in 2005.
• Jan. 4: Private players allowed into the field of container transport operation, ending CONCOR's
monopoly.
• Jan. 12: Mahaparinirvan Express, a Buddhist tourist circuit train, begins service.
• Feb. 7: Advance booking period of railway tickets changed to 90 days.
• Apr. 11: IR announces new codes for passenger coaches ('B-1' for AC-3T coaches formerly designated 'AS-
1', etc.).
• Apr. 11: First long-distance trains named after a corporate brand launched. SWR granted PepsiCo the
right to run three summer trains (Bangalore - Nagarkole, Bangalore - Chennai, and Bangalore - Hubli)
under the name 'Kurkure Express' with branding by PepsiCo for its lines of snacks of that name.
• Jun. 30: Trial runs on gauge-converted BG section Madurai - Manmadurai - Rameshwaram and Pamban
Bridge.
• Dec. 1: 'Red Ribbon', a special train for AIDS/HIV awareness, is flagged off.

Reference Copy 27
 Historical Development of Indian Railways
2008
• Jan. 6: Amritsar-Dibrugarh train derails between Basdih and Sadwar railway stations, near Ballia, affecting
rail traffic in the area for a day.
• Mar. 8: Hajipur railway station of ECR in Bihar becomes the first one to be staffed entirely by women.
• Jun. 4: Jammu and Kashmir railway line: A trial train from Anantnag arrives at Nowgam on the outskirts of
Srinagar.
• Jun. 11: Centenary of the Egmore railway station at Chennai (Madras).
• Jun. 20: 12-car rakes brought into service in the Chennai area, between Chennai Beach and Chengalpattu.
• Jun. 26: Stone India develops a special pantograph for high catenaries allowing double-stacked container
freight movement on electrified lines.
• Jun. 29: The 68km extension of the railway line from Ambassa to Agartala is done, and NFR successfully
runs a light locomotive all the way to Tripura's capital city Agartala; the line passes through a 1.85km long
tunnel in the Atharamura hill range.
• Jul. 7: Kalka-Shimla Railway added to UNESCO Heritage list. (Official declaration on Nov. 9.)
• Oct. 12: Inaugural run of train services between Rajwansher in Budgam district, Srinagar, and Anantnag
district in Jammu and Kashmir.
Reference Copy 28
 Historical Development of Indian Railways
2009
• Apr. 1: Golden Rock Workshop delivers first BG shunter made by converting an MG locomotive, classed
'WCDS-6'.
• Jul. 29: Trial runs of first standard-gauge lines of Delhi Metro (Inderlok-Mundka).
• Sep. 18-28: First 'Duronto' non-stop expresses launched. Sep. 18 - Howrah - H. Nizamuddin, Sep. 21 -
Chennai - H. Nizamuddin, Sep. 28 - Mumbai-Howrah and Pune - H. Nizamuddin.

2010
• Mar. 31: First air-conditioned double-decker coach, from RCF.
• Apr. 1: Rail link to Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) opened to traffic.
(Includes the longest (4.62km) railway bridge in the country.)
• Aug. 15: First rake of Mumbai Metro, from Shanghai, arrives at the new (under construction) Versova car
shed for inspection and trials.
Chennai Metro: Contract signed with Alstom for supply of 42 train-sets.
• Dec. 20: IR switches to using 5-digit train numbers, with passenger trains within each zone and suburban
services, etc., all being brought under the same uniform system.

Reference Copy 29
 Historical Development of Indian Railways
2011

• Apr. 16: IR launches "Rail Bandhu", an on-board magazine on long-distance trains.

• Oct. 1: The first double-decker superfast train commences running between Howrah and Dhanbad.
• Oct. 14: NR opens India's longest railway tunnel opens: 10.96km long, piercing the Pir Panjal mountain
range in Jammu and Kashmir, and part of the Udhampur - Srinagar - Baramulla rail link.
• Nov. 19: Dibrugarh-Kanyakumari "Vivek Express" is launched, which has the longest route ever of a
scheduled IR train, at 4,286km.

2012

• Feb. 5: Western Railway switches to 25kV AC traction for Mumbai area, ending its use of 1.5kV DC traction.
• April: Railway Coach Factory, Kapurthala, starts producing fireproof coaches with stainless steel bodies,
and fire-resistant fittings.
• Nov. 8: Rail Coach Factory at Lalganj in Rae Bareli district inaugurated.

Reference Copy 30
 Historical Development of Indian Railways
2013

• Railways now running 1400 coaches with bio-toilets in various trains

• Launching of high speed rail corporation of india limited
• India and japan sign MoU for feasibility study of high speed railway system
• First ever dual cab freight diesel locomotive ‘vijay’ flagged off
• Indian railways bags highest ever 22 national energy conservation awards for the year 2013

2014-2015

• To improve reliability and visibility of signals, incandescent filament signal lamps are being replaced by
long life, highly durable LED signals. 171 stations have been provided with LED signals.
• Provision of Automatic fire and smoke detection system for Non AC coaches for the first time.
• Suvidha Trains have been introduced wherein the maximum Advance Reservation Period is 30 days while
the minimum Advance Reservation Period is 10 days. Zonal Railways will decide the exact ARP of reach
train within this limit.

Reference Copy 31
 Historical Development of Indian Railways
2016
• Energy: Annualized savings of Rs. 3,000 crore to be achieved in the next financial year itself, a year earlier
than announced; achieved by procuring power directly at competitive rates using IR's status as Deemed
Distribution Licensee.

• Rail University: Initially identified the National Academy of Indian Railways at Vadodara.

• Digital India: Application of Track Management System (TMS) launched, inventory management module of
TMS has resulted in inventory reduction by 27,000 MT resulting in saving of Rs.64 crore and scrap
identification of 22,000 MT equivalent to Rs.53 crore

• SMART (Specially Modified Aesthetic Refreshing Travel) Coaches: design and layout of our coaches to
ensure higher carrying capacity and provision of new amenities including automatic doors, bar-code
readers, bio-vacuum toilets, water-level indicators, accessible dustbins, ergonomic seating, improved
aesthetics, vending machines, entertainment screens, LED lit boards for advertising, PA system.

• High Speed Rail: Passenger corridor from Ahmedabad to Mumbai being undertaken with the assistance of
the Government of Japan. SPV for implementing high speed projects will be registered this month. Prime
benefit would be providing IR with technology advancements and new manufacturing capability
Reference Copy 32
 Indian Railways
• Railway Board:
 The responsibility of the administration and management of Indian Railways rests with
the Railway Board under the overall supervision of the Minister for Railways. The
Railway Board exercises all the powers of the Central Government in respect of the
regulation, construction, maintenance, and operation of the Railways.

• Research Design and Standards Organization:

 The Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO) is headquartered at Lucknow.
It is headed by a director general who has a team of specialists from different fields of
railways. RDSO functions as a technical adviser and consultant to the Railway Board,
the zonal railways, and production units as well as to public and private sector
undertakings with respect to the designs and standardization of railway equipment.

Reference Copy 33
 Indian Railways
• COFMOW:
 The Central Organization for Modernization of Workshops (COFMOW) was set up in
1979 as a specialized agency to implement the various workshop modernization
programs of Indian Railways. Most of the workshops of IR are over 100 years old and
COFMOW is modernizing these workshops in a planned way with the assistance of the
World Bank.
• 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 closely linked with Indian Railways and is in a privileged position
to draw freely upon the huge pool of experience, expertise, and technical know-how
acquired over a century of operations for Indian Railways.

Reference Copy 34
 Indian Railways
• IRCON International Ltd:
 IRCON International Ltd, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways, was
incorporated in 1976 as an Indian Railway construction company, as a specialized agency to
undertake major railways projects both in India and abroad. This organization was set up with
a view to channelize the export of construction services, technological know-how, and special
skills gained by Indian Railways in the last 150 years. IRCON is in the ideal position to
undertake the entire spectrum of construction activities concerning the various railway
disciplines—civil, mechanical, electrical, signaling, telecommunications, etc.

• IRFC:
• IRFC was incorporated as a public limited company in December 1986 with the sole objective
of raising funds for the railways from the market based on the requirement of the Ministry of
Railways to partly finance the plan outlay and meet the developmental needs of IR.

Reference Copy 35
 Indian Railways
• CONCOR:
 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 company commenced operations in November 1989.
 CONCOR has evolved a strategy to transform the company from an operational entity
into a market-driven organization in order to ensure its leadership in the multimodal
market. The four specific areas identified under this strategy are total logistics solutions,
cold chain, coastal shipping, and extension of intermodal services to neighboring
countries.

Reference Copy 36
 Indian Railways
• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd:

 IRCTC is a new corporation under the Ministry of Railways. Some of the important
projects undertaken by the corporation are the following:

 Catering services IRCTC has awarded 17 contracts for on-board catering services in
trains, taking the total number of trains covered to 71. These include 5 Rajdhani, 2
Shatabdi, 17 Jan Shatabdi, and 47 mail/express trains.
 Internet ticketing system The facility of booking railway tickets through the Internet has
been extended to 120 cities across the country. Payment is accepted through credit
cards, debit cards, or direct debit to the account of the customer.
 Packaged drinking water project The first Rail Neer plant of the corporation was
inaugurated in May 2003, and a second in February 2004. Good quality drinking water is
supplied to passengers and other rail users.

Reference Copy 37
 Indian Railways
• Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd:
 Konkan Railways is the first railway project in the country to be executed on the BOT principle.
The company was formed with the participation of four states, namely, Maharashtra, Goa,
Karnataka, and Kerala, along with the Ministry of Railways with Rs 8000 million as equity and
Rs 27,500 million raised in bonds, funding the total cost of the project of Rs 35,500 million.
 At present there are 13 pairs of express trains and 5 pairs of passenger trains running over the
Konkan Railway route. These have reduced the distance and travel time to Southern India.

• RailTel Corporation of India Ltd

• The main objectives of the company, inter alia, include building a nationwide telecom
multimedia network for laying optical fibre cables (OFCs) with a view to modernize the
Railways’ communication systems for safe and efficient train operation and to generate
revenue through the commercial use of the system.

Reference Copy 38
 Indian Railways
• Pipavan Railway Corporation Limited:
 Pipavan Railway Corporation Ltd (PRCL), a joint venture of the Ministry of Railways and Gujarat
Pipavan Port Limited (GPPL) with equal equity participation, was formed to execute the
Surendra Nagar–Rajula–Pipavan port gauge conversion/ new line project. This is the first
railway infrastructure executed through private sector participation.

• Centre for Railway Information Systems:

 Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), which is an autonomous body under the
patronage of Ministry of Railways, was established as a non-profit-making organization and
entrusted with the design, development, and information of all major computer services of
the Railways. During the last few years CRIS has made substantial progress in the freight
operation information system (FOIS), passenger reservation system (PRS), national train
enquiry system (NTES), microprocessor-based self-printing ticketing machines, and track
management system.

Reference Copy 39
 Indian Railways
• Zonal Railways:
 The entire railway system was earlier divided into nine zonal railways. To increase efficiency, the
Railway Ministry decided to set up seven new railway zones
 Presently, Indian Railways is divided into 16 zones, each having different territorial jurisdictions
which vary from 2300 to 7000 route km.

Reference Copy 40
Indian Railways
• * Route kilometre indicates
the length of a route from
one point to another point.
• † Running track kilometre is
the length of running track
on that route; on a double-
line section, the running
track kilometre is about
twice the route kilometre.
• ‡ Total track kilometre
indicates the running track
kilometre including turnouts,
etc., after taking their due
weightage into account.
• Zonewise track length as on
31 March 2004
Reference Copy 41
 Indian Railways
• Each zonal railway is administered by a general manager assisted by
additional general managers and heads of departments of different
disciplines, namely, civil engineering, mechanical, operating,
commercial, accounts, security, signals and telecommunications,
electrical, personnel, medical, etc.

Reference Copy 42
Reference Copy 43
 Indian Railways
• Production Units:
Apart from zonal railways, there are six production units.

Reference Copy 44
 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:

– Group A lines : These lines are meant for a sanctioned speed of 160 kmph
– Group B lines: These lines are meant for a sanctioned speed of 130 kmph
– 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 kmph.
– Group E and E Spl lines: These lines are meant for other sections and branch lines.

Reference Copy 45
 Classification of Railway Lines in India
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
as discussed below.
– Q 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: with a speed potential of 75 kmph and a traffic density of more than 1.5 GMT.
– S routes: with a speed potential of less than 75 kmph and a traffic density of less than
1.5 GMT.

Reference Copy 46
 Strengths of Indian Railways
• For a vast country with great distances and a large population, the railways have an inherent
advantage over other modes of transport in their suitability for movement of large volumes of
passenger and goods traffic over long distances.
• The movement of steel wheels on steel rails in the railway system has the basic advantage of low
rolling resistance, which reduces energy requirements and haulage costs.
• Railways are more efficient than roadways in terms of land use.
• Railways are an energy-efficient mode of transport, particularly for freight traffic, and can use
different forms of energy. Railways also cause relatively less environmental pollution than
roadways.
• In densely populated urban centres, a rapid transit rail-based system is the most appropriate mode
of transport for suburban intra-urban travel, as part of a city’s integrated transport system.
• Indian Railways is a well-established organization with a large pool of skilled and trained personnel.
• Being part of the Central Government, Indian Railways has the Government’s financial backing. At
the same time, they have considerable financial autonomy.
• Indian Railways is a self-reliant system with respect to its major equipment needs.
Reference Copy 47
 Weakness of Indian Railways
• A large portion of the railway’s infrastructure is over-aged, and in urgent need of replacement or
rehabilitation. This includes track, motive power and rolling stock, signaling, operational, and
maintenance equipment.
• 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.
• Indian Railways has a large force of unskilled manpower. The training facilities need augmentation and
modernization.
• A persistent resource constraint in the past has adversely affected Railways’ development.
• Indian Railways carries a substantial ‘social burden’ in the form of continued operation of un-
remunerative branch lines, subsidies on passenger and suburban travel, and even freight subsidy on
certain commodities.
• In certain areas, pilferage and vandalism seriously affect operational efficiency.
• Railways are not suited for carriage of small quantities of freight particularly over short distances.
• Heavy investments are needed to build up railway transport capacity and the gestation periods are
long.
• Transport capacity is volatile and cannot be recouped if not utilized continuously.
Reference Copy 48
 Modern Trends
• High speed rail transport
• Digital Signaling
• Driverless metros
• Ecological Design
• MAGLEV

Reference Copy 49