Complete Mechanisation of track maintenance- A critical review of deployment of Track machines.

Under the guidance

of

Shri Ajay Goyal, Sr. Professor(Bridge)

BY

Sh Sunil Mittal Dy CE/TMC/JP NWR

Sh Anand Singh Sr DEN/1/BSB NER

Sh Mukesh Kumar Sr DEN/PRCL/BVP WR

Course No. 821: Sr Professional Course (P.Way)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We express our gratitude to the, IRICEN for giving us this unique opportunity to make out this project, which may bring in some valuable improvement in a particular field of working on Indian Railways. We are grateful to Sh. Ajay Goyal, SP/B & Project Guide, who most affectionately steered the project with his able & valuable counseling and guidance. We are also grateful to Sri A. K.Yadav, SP/T & Course Director and Sh. V.B. Sood, PT/2, for their active support & kind guidance during the course of this Project. We take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to Sh. A. K. Goel, Director/IRICEN and other faculty members for their kind tutelage during the entire course of Sr Professional training. We hope this project would find a little place in the services of the Indian Railways in its various missions for continuous improvement.

INDEX
Item No.
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.3.1 4.3.2 5.0 5.1 5.1.1 5.1.2 5.1.3 5.1.4 6.0 7.0 8.0

Particulars
SYNOPSIS TRACK STRUCTURE ON INDIAN RAILWAY TRACK MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES PRESENT SYSTEM OF MECHANIZED MAINTENANCE ON TRACK MACHINE UNITS History of mechanization on IR On track machines on IR Plannin g for Deploy ment of on track machin es: Dep loy ment of tamping machines Dep loy ment of other machines MOBILE MAINTENANCE UNITS (MMU) Dep loy ment of small track mach ines MMU-I MMU-II Yardstick of small track machines Availability of small track mach ine on IR ISSUES INVOLVED IN MOBILE M AINTENANCE SYSTEM SUGGESTIONS REGARDING M OBILE M AINTENANCE SYSTEM INTRODUCTION OF NEW ON-TRACK M ACHINES CONCLUSION:

Page No 1 1 1 2 3 3 5 5 5 6 7 7 7 9 9 10 11 12 14 18

COMPLET E MECHAN IZATION OF TRACK MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES - A CRIT ICAL REVIEW OF DEPLOYMENT OF MACHINES . SYNOPSIS : Indian Railway sy stem is one of the largest railway system in the world under a single management havin g over 63000 route Km and about 1.1 lakh track kilometers. Volu me of traffic moved & its relatively low cost to common man makes Indian Railway the p rime mover of the nation. Track maintenance in the railway has undergon e a sea chan ge during the past 30 years due to continuous develop ments in various track comp onents viz sleep ers, fastenings and long welded rails. The use of the machines both for mechanized track maintenance as well as track laying has in creased substantially in recent p ast with the introduction of heavy track structures to meet the challen ges of growin g traffic and chan ged socio-economic conditions. Bein g fit for modern h eavy track structure and giv in g quality out p ut far superior than what one can ach ieve manually , a co mp lete mechanization of track maintenance has b ecome inevitable. Similarly at p resent track relay ing is bein g done manu ally as well as by machin es, but the quality and p rogress of machines has outp lay ed what we achieve manually. Today , Indian Railways have a large fleet of different typ es of new gen eration track machin es. However due to growin g traffic density , axle loads and sp eeds on the Indian Railway s, the dep loy ment of further new generation h igh performance sophisticated track machin es is to be thought of on Indian Railway. In this project efforts have been made to concise the sy stem of comp lete mechanization of track maintenance by dep loying on-track machines and small track mach ines, with shortcomings and scop e for further imp rovement. M oreover state-of-the-art new generation high p erforman ce track machines not available on IR have also been d iscussed to have an insight of new machines. 1.0 TRACK S TRUCT URE ON INDIAN RAILWAYS:

Modern railway track structure on Indian Railway matches with the world-class railway track structure with PSC sleepers, 60 Kg 90 UTS rails, fan shap ed turnouts, LWR/CWR, elastic fastenin gs etc. The sleeper density varies from 1660 to 1310 sleep ers p er kilometer. With the Uni-gau ge p olicy of Indian Railway the entire M G/NG track is bein g converted in BG at a very fast p ace. 2.0 TRACK MAINT ENANCE ACTIVITIES :

Track maintenance means the total p rocess of maintenance and renewal required to ensure that the track meets safety and quality standards at minimum cost. For keeping any asset in the good fetal it is utmost necessary to monitor the health of the asset and to maintain it to the required lev el.

Activities involved in the track maintenance are as follows: 1- Tamping of track for correction of track geo metry; a- Tamping of plain track. b- Tamping of turnouts. 2- Need based spot attention; a-attention to bad sp ot generally on approaches of bridges , level crossing and at turnouts. b-p acking of glued joints , welded jo ints. c-attention of switch expansion joints (SEJ). d-minor rectification of alignment. 3- Casual renewal of track components viz rail, sleep er, fittings etc. 4- Sy stematic over-haulin g. 5- Ballast p rofiling. 6- Emergen cy rep airs viz. rectification of rail /weld fractures etc. 7- Destressing of LWR tracks. 8- Transportion, loading and unloadin g of P.Way material. 9- Ultrasonic testing of rails. 10-Lubrication of elastic rail clip s. 12- M aintenance of level crossings; a- Overhaulin g of level crossing b- Imp roving visibility by removing trees, bushes etc. c- M aintenance of road surface. 11-Patrolling a- M onsoon p atrolling. b- Hot weather patrolling. c- Cold weather p atrolling d- Security p atrolling d- Key man daily p atrolling 12- M anning caution and sp eed restriction boards. 13- Tree cutting for improved visibility. 14- Lubrication of rails and fish p lated joints 15- Resurfacin g of switches and crossin gs 16- Pre monsoon attention to drains /waterways 17- Pulling back of creep and gap adjustment 18- Attention to level crossings 19- Periodic deep screenin g 20- Rail weld in g 21- Rail cutting /drillin g and chamfering 22- M inor cess rep airs 23- Rail grind in g 3.0 PRESENT SYS TEM OF MECHAN IZED TRACK MAINT ENANCE: As p er the instructions laid down in Para 228 of IRPWM three-tier sy stem of track maintenance shall be adop ted on sections nominated for mechanized maintenance. This

mechan ized sy stem of track maintenance shall consist of the following 3 tiers of maintenance: (i) (ii) On track machines unit (OM U) M obile maintenance un its (MMU) Sectional gangs (SG) TTM, BCM , FRM , DGS, BRM , etc. for p lanned on track maintenance. MMU-I: Rail cum road vehicle based, for sp ot tamp ing, weldin g, de-stressing, casual renewal etc. MMU-II: Road vehicle based, for recond itionin g of turnouts, rep air of small track mach ines. Regu lar track maintenance activities such as p atrolling, p re & p ost tamping attention, attention to loop s & bridge app roaches, greasin g of ERC & fish plated joints, minor cess rep air and assistance to OMU & MM U.

(iii)

4.0 ON TRACK MACHIN E UN ITS : 4.1 History of mechanization on IR: Indian Railway s started conducting trials with various off-track tamp ers around 1958-60 on Delhi-Agra route of Central Railway, which is the beginnin g of mechanization of track maintenance in Indian Railways. Between 1963 and 1966, Indian Railway s p urchased 4 Nos. of On-Track Tamp ers M atisa made (B-60 : 1No. & BN-60: 3 Nos.). In 1965, M /s Plasser & Theurer d eliv ered the first track maintenance machin e to Indian Railway s and established a p erman ent service d ep ot at Faridabad in India. In February 1968, the first track maintenance mach ine manufactured in Ind ia by M /s Plasser & Theurer was handed over to Indian Railway s. Following ty p es of on- track machines have been p rocured and commissioned on Indian R ailway s in p ast:
Type of Machine Model No Year Com pany Driving spee d
40 40 60 60 60 60 60

Progre ss/ Effe ctive hour

400 to 500 sleepers 500 to 600 sleepers 800 to 1000 Sleepers 1400 Sleepers to 1600

Tam ping Machines

Super lining control tamper Universal Tamper Tamper single sleeper Tamper Double Sleepers 06-16SLC 06-16USLC 08-16Unomatic 08-32Duomatic 1972 1985 1986 1989 2000 2003 1968 Plasser & T heurer, Austria -do-do-do-do-do-do-

Continuous T amping 09-32-CSM Machine 09-3XTamping Express CSM Three Sleepers Tamper Double 08-32Sleepers Duomatic

2200 to 2400 sleeper 2800 to Sleepers 1800 sleepers 3500

Russian T amper Double Sleepers Points & Crossing Tamper

Points & Crossing

VPR02M-18 08-275-2S Unimat 08-275-3S Unimat

2004

Metex, Russia

60

2000 Sleepers

Tie Tamping Machines Points & C rossing Tam ping Machine

1990 1993 Plasser & T heurer, Austria -do-

60 60

1 Turnout 1 Turnout

Tamper

Tie Tam ping Machines Multi Purpose Tam per

Multi Purpose tamper Unimat CompactM DGS62N/62PLS BCM RM-80 KBC-600 Ballast Cleaning Machine f or Points & Crossing Shoulder Ballast Cleaning Machine Shoulder Ballast Cleaning Machine Ballast Macine regulating RM-76 1992 1998 60 1 T urnout or 600 sleepers on Straight

Dynamic Track Stabilize r

Dynamic track Stabliser Ballast Cleaning Machine Ballast Cleaning Machine 1990 60 1 to 2 Km

Ballast Handling Machines

1970 Matissa, 40 40 650 Cum. Switzerland Plasser & T heurer, Austria Kersaw, USA Plasser & T heurer, Austria

40

550 Cum.

FRM-80 KSC-600 FRM-85 BRM 66-4 BRM C 56-3

1992 1986 2004 1989

Plasser & T heurer, Austria Kersaw, USA Plasser & T heurer, Austria Kersaw, USA

40 40 40 50 60

550 Cum. 550 Cum. 550 Cum. 1 Km

Track Relaying Machines

Track Relaying Machine PQRS 2000-I (5T ) & 201(9T ) TRT P-811S T-28 1972 Plasser & T heurer, Austria

1 hr = 20P nd 2 hrs.= 17P rd 3 hrs = 14P 1 Km. in 2 Hr. 40 Minutes

Depends on

st

Track Relaying Train Machine for T urn out renew al

1989-90

T amper Corporation, USA Ameca, Italy

5 10

1992

site

Conditions

Spe cial Purpose Machine

Mobile Flash Butt Welding Plant Rail Grinding Machine K-355 APT SX-11 1987 1990 Plasser & T heurer, Austria Loram, USA

60 60

4.2 On track machines on IR: The Zone wise distribution of on track machin es available on Indian Railway is giv en in Annexure-I. Total type wise distribution of various on track machin es available on Indian Railway is as given below: S r No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Type of Machine Tamp ing exp ress (09-3X) Continuous tamping machine C SM Work site tamp ers (WST) UNIM AT Multi p urpose tamp ers (MPT) Ballast cleanin g machin e (BCM) Shoulder ballast cleanin g mach ine (SBCM ) Plasser quick relay ing system (PQRS) T- 28 Track relay ing train (TRT) Dynamic track stabliser (DTS) Ballast regulatin g machines (BRM ) TOTAL Numbers 12 51 68 54 9 61 29 39 25 8 62 27

4.3 Planning for Deployment of on track machines: As p er para 5.1.1 of IRTMM by 30th September of every year, Sr. DENs/Co-ordination of divisions will send to the CTE(M C) their Annual Requirement plan for track machin es based on maintenance needs, track renewal needs, availability of blocks etc., for the next year commencing from Ap ril. Likewise the construction organisations will p roject to the CTE(M C) their needs for gau ge conversion, doublin g, new lines etc,. The requirement p lan shall cover all the track machines such as TRT, PQRS, T-28 etc., for track lay ing/renewal sites, tamp ers for rear packing and maintenance p ackin g, as well as sp ecial machin es such as BCM , SBCM , DTS, Ballast Regu lators etc. Requirement of the divisions and the construction organisations shall be examined at the Zonal HQ and a 'DRAFT' machine dep loy ment p rogramme is issued by 31st January . On receip t of' the "Pink book" and p assing of Budget, the draft plan is revised to suit the works included in the Pink Book, The finalised deploy ment p lan will be sent to all con cerned by 31st M arch every y ear. 4.3.1 Deployment of tamping machines: (i) Tamping Cycle: As p er the instructions given in p ara 5.7 of IRTMM the tamp ing charts shall be maintained at divisional level and at HQ for monitoring the frequency of Tamping. The track structure, prescribed tamping cy cle, last tamp ed p eriods (2 cycles) and condition of the track (CTR values of Standard Dev iation valu es) will hav e to be incorp orated in the charts. The tamping cy cle currently in existence is as follows which may have to be reviewed from time to time: (a) On PSC sleep ers, the frequency of tamp ing will be once in two y ears or p assage of 100 GM T of traffic whichever is earlier. (b) On other than PSC sleep ers, frequency of tamp ing will be on ce in on e y ear.

The above ap p roach of lay ing down the tamp ing cy cle based on time elap sed or at the most traffic carried, does not take into account the track condition. The track condition shall be the p rime criteria for d ecid in g the dep loy ment of track. The track condition can be measured by dep loy ing various monitoring equip ments like OM S, TRC, Oscillograp h car etc. Absolute track survey ing can be one by using the automated, comp uter-assisted EM -SAT track survey car. (ii) Deployment of tamping machine based on TRC results: The systematic through tamp ing shall be done b ased on tamping cy cle. However apart from systematic through tamping based on tamp ing cy cle, the deploy ment of tamp ing machine at any time shall be based on TRC results as p er the instructions issued by PCE-WR. Just after the TRC run the analy sis of TGI value is required to be carried out Km wise and block wise to identify the stretches to be attended by machine as per followin g details and the tamping machine shall be dep loy ed from one end to other end to attend the identified stretches: (i) TGI value in between 80 & 50: The Kms/blocks having TGI value less than 80 due to curves are identified and the curves are to be measured. If the curve requires the comp lete realignment then tamp ing machine can be planned. TGI value is between 50 & 36: If the TGI value for a particular Km is between 50 & 36 p lanned maintenance is required to be carried out. The stretches of more than 200 m len gth shall be id entified and attended with tamp ing machines. TGI value is less than 36: The Kms where TGI is less than 36, needs to be attended on urgent basis with tamp ing mach ine. Further before dep loy ing the machin e, the sp ot with larger defects is to be attended with off track tampers.

(ii)

(iii)

(iii) Points and Crossing Tamping Machine: The deterioration of Points & crossing area is more as comp ared to the p lain track due to the geometry of the structure. The dep loy ment of P&C tamp ing machine can be based on GM T p assed or the minimum time interval as p er the followin g frequen cy: (a) On PSC sleep ers, the frequency of tamp ing will be once in two y ears or p assage of 100 GM T of traffic whichever is earlier. (b) On other than PSC sleep ers, frequency of tamp ing will be on ce in on e y ear. 4.3.2 Deployment of other machines: (i) Ballast Cleaning Machine: As p er the laid down instructions the deep screening is to be carried out once in 10 y ears. However, the need of deep screenin g shall be assessed based up on the clean b allast cushion available so as to ensure the effective tamp in g & drainage. (ii) Ballast Regulating Machine: The ballast regulatin g machin e can b e dep loyed after unlo adin g the ballast in the section. The ballast insertion p rogramme is to be chalk ed out and accordingly the machine can be

dep loy ed. This machine is to be d ep loy ed with ballast cleanin g machine and also after track renewal work. (iii) Dynamic Track Stabiliser: The dy namic Track Stabiliser help s to achieve consolidation while regain ing the resistance to lateral disp lacement. This help s in relaxin g the sp eed restrictions exp editiously and extension of maintenance cy cle and thus constitutes an economically sound measure. The machine should be used in maximum settlement mode at renewal or deep screening sites. On maintenance site, it should b e used in controlled settlement mode. The DTS should be dep loyed immed iately behind the tamp ing machine. Hence the frequen cy shall be k ep t as same that of the tamp ing machine. 5.0 MOBILE MAINT ENANCE UNITS (MMU): 5.1 Deployment of small track machines: There is no laid down frequency of dep loy ment of small track machin e. In fact a frequency cannot be fixed as p rimarily these machines caters to sp ot attention or to the requirement of work sites. The typ e of small track machine to be dep loy ed dep ends on the typ e of track maintenance work to be p erformed. As p er three-tier system of track maintenance two typ es of M obile maintenance units (MMU) are to be p rovided as per P.Way manual: o MMU-I one for each PWIs section o MMU-II one for each sub division 5.1.1 MMU-I: It is rail cum road vehicle based maintenan ce unit. One no of M MU-I is to be provided with each PWI in charge with a jurisdiction of 40-50 kms double line or 90-100 Kms single line for the following activities: (i) Need based sp ot tamp ing: This is a p art of directed track maintenance (DTM). With the use of off track tampers concrete sleep er / flat bottom sleep er track can be tamp ed with an average p rogress of 40 to 50 sleep ers p er hour. During tamp ing, correction of lateral alignment, vertical p rofile and cross-level can b e done by using hy draulic track liftin g and slewin g d evice (TRALIS). Alternatively cross-level alone can be corrected by using hy draulic/mech anical jacks. (ii) In situ rail weld in g (iii) Casual renewals and rep airs except p lanned renewals (iv) Over haulin g of level crossin gs (v) Rep lacement of glued joints (vi) Rail cutting /drillin g and chamfering (vii) Perman ent rep airs to factures (viii) Creep or gap adjustments involving machines (ix) Distressing of LWR/C WR (x) Lo adin g/ un loadin g of materials (xi) Any other functions assigned

Dep loy ment of small track machin es for the above track maintenan ce activities of MMU-I is given below:
Sr. No 1 Maintenance activity Small track machine required Qty 1 set 4 sets 2 sets 2 sets 1 set 1 set 1 set 1 set 4 set

Need based spot 1- Off track hand held tamper with generator tamp ing with liftin g & 2-Hydraulic/mechanical lifting jack linin g
3-Hydraulic track lifting cum slewing device 1-Rail welding equipment 2-Weld trimmer 3- Rail profile weld grinder

In situ rail weldin g

Casual renewals and 1- Rail cutting machine (Abrasive/saw type) rep airs except p lanned 2-Rail drilling machine renewals
3-Track lifting jack (Hydraulic/mechanical)

4-Various track tools like crow bars, beaters, As per rake ballas t, rail tongue etc. requirement 4

Over haulin g of level crossings

1-Track lifting jack (Hydraulic/mechanical) 2-Hydraulic track lifting cum slewing device 3- Off track hand held tamper with generator

4 sets 2 sets 1 set

4-Various track tools like crow bars, beaters, As per rake ballas t, rail tongue etc. requirement 5

Rep lacement of glued joints

1- Rail cutting machine (Abrasive/saw type) 2-Rail drilling machine 3-Rail welding equipment 4-Weld trimmer 5-Rail profile weld grinder

1 set 1 set 2 set 1 set 1 set 1 No 1 No 1 set 1 set 1 set 2 set 1 set 1 set 1 set 1 set 1 No 1 set 1 set 2 set 1 No 1 set

Rail cutting /drilling 1- Rail cutting machine (Abrasive/saw type) and chamfering 2-Rail drilling machine
3- Chamfering kit

Permanent rep airs to 1- Rail cutting machine (Abrasive/saw type) factures 2-Rail drilling machine
3-Rail welding equipment 4-Weld trimmer 5- Rail profile weld grinder 6-Hydraulic rail tensor

Creep or gap 1-Rail creep adjuster adjustments involving 2-Gap gauge machines Distressing LWR/CWR of 1- Rail cutting machine (Abrasive/saw type)
2-Rail drilling machine 3-Rail welding equipment 4-Weld trimmer 5- Rail profile weld grinder

6-Hydraulic rail tensor 7-Destressing rollers & wooden mallet 10

2 set Complete set 6 Nos 2 Nos

Loading/ unloadin g of materials Communication

1- Rail dolley 2- Mono rail wheel borrow

11
12

13

1-walkie talkie 2-portables field telep hones 1-Insp ection kit Insp ection gadgets 2-Gauge- cum- level 3-Rail thermometer 4-Vernier calip ers 5-Micrometer Safety and protection 1-Warnin g sy stem 2-Red banner flag equip ments 3-Red hand signal flag 4-Green hand signals flag 5-Detonators 6-Gas cutting equip ments with accessories

4 Sets 4 Sets 1 No 1 No 1 No 1 No 1 No 1 Set As per p rotection rules. 1 set

5.1.2 MMU-II : It is Road vehicle based. One MMU II is to be p rovided with each sub division to cater to the needs of all PWI units under one sub-division for the followin g activities: (i) Reconditioning of Turnouts (ii) M inor rep airs to the equip ments of MMU-I Requirement of small track machin es for the above track maintenance activities of MMU-II is given below: Sr A B Category Name of equipment Points and crossing 1-Weldin g generator reconditionin g equ ip ment 2-Arc welding equipment 3-Hand held rail grinder For minor rep airs to 1-Sp anner of sizes equip ments 2-Turfer 3-Files of sorts 4-Bench drill 5-Vice bench 6-Bench grinder Qty 1 Set 1 Set 2 Sets 2 Sets 2 Sets 2 Sets 2 Sets 2 Sets 2 Sets

5.1.3 Yardstick of small track machines: As p er Indian Railway Small Track M achine Manual (IRSTMM ) y ard stick for holding of small track mach ine has b een fixed for different typ es of small track machines. The yardstick is given as below: S. No. 1. 2. 3. TYPE OF MACHIN E Abrasive Rail Cutter Abrasive Rail Cutting Wheel Rail Cutting M achine (Saw Typ e) QUANTIT Y 3 p er SE (Suburban) 1 p er SE (Other than suburban) 1 p er ART As required 2 nos. p er SE (other than Suburban)

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31.

Hacksaw Blade for cutting R ails Rail Drillin g Machine Chamferin g Kit Hy draulic Rail Tensor (non-infrin gin g typ e), 70 t cap acity Hy draulic Rail Bend er (Jim Crow), Heavy duty Hy draulic Rail Joint Straightener Rail Creep Adjuster Hy draulic Sleeper Sp acer Concrete Sleeper Breaker with Angle Grinder Concrete Sleep er Drillin g M achine Portable DC Weldin g Generator Double Action Weld Trimmer for AT Weldin g (Power Pack Version) Rail Profile Weld Grinder Heavy Duty Hydraulic Extractor for Jammed ERCs Toe Load M easuring Device (M echanical) Electronic Toe Lo ad Measuring Device Mechanical Track Jack Hy draulic Track Jack Portable track lifting & slewing dev ice (TRALIS) Self Prop elled light weight Trolley Powered M aterial Trolley Light Weight Rail (M ono) cum Road Trolley Jib Crane Attachable to BFR-BRH for handlin g con crete Sleeper Attachment for Rail Dolly for PRC sleep er Powered Rail Haulin g Sy stem Hand Held Off Track Tamp er Portable Ballast Clean er (SemiMechanised) Portable Shoulder B allast Comp actor

1 p er ART As required 2 p er SE (Suburban) 1 p er SE (other than suburban) 1 p er ART 1 p er SE 2 p er SE 1 p er SE 1 p er Sub division 1 p er SE 2 p er SE 1 p er ART 1 p er Division 1 p er SE 1 p er Weldin g-unit 1 p er Weldin g-unit 1 p er SE 1 p er ART 1 p er SE 1 p er SE 2 p er gan g/unit 4 p er gan g/unit 2 p er SE 1 p er AEN 1 p er SE 2 p er gan g As required 4 p er SE 1 p er PQRS site 3 p er SE 1 p er gan g 1 p er SE

5.1.4 Availability of small track machine on IR : Assuming 100 track km to be maintained by each PWI unit, total PWI unit on IR for 1.1 lacs track k m comes out to be 1100.

As p er above yard stick typ ical Requirement and availability on one of the Zonal Railway is giv en below:
Sl No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Name of machine Yard stick as per IRST MM 1 per SE 1 per SE 1 per welding unit 1 per welding unit 4 per gang 2 per gang 1 per SE 1 per SE 2 per SE 1 per SE 2 per SE 1 per SE 2 per SE 1 per gang 1 per SE 1 per division Requirement in Southern Rly 100 100 100 100 2000 1000 100 100 200 100 200 100 200 500 100 5 Availabilty in Southern RLy 5 58 12 25 62 82 31 19 13 4 1 6 0 3 4 2 % availability 5 58 12 25 3.1 4.1 31 19 6.5 4 .5 6 0 1 4 40

Abrasive rail cutter Rail drilling machine Double action weld trimmer Rail profile weld grinder Hydraulic track jack Mechanical track jack Toe load measuring device Portable DC weld generator Hydraulic tensor Hydraulic rail bender Hydraulic sleeper spacer Rail creep adjuster Portable track lifting and slewing device Portable ballast cleaner Hydraulic clip extractor Concrete sleeper drilling device

Data of small track machine availability on Southern Railway is indicative only . The p attern on Indian Railway is more or less similar and one thing can be said that p resent availability of small track machin e is grossly inadequate and requires p riority attention in this regard. 6.0 ISS UES INVOLVED IN MOBILE MAINT ENANC E SYS TEM : (i) Poor adoption of MMU : The p resent p roblems regardin g the p oor adoption of mechanized maintenance usin g small track machin es is due to the following reasons: - Poor knowledge regardin g maintenance - Difficulty in transp ort of equipments - Frequent breakdowns - Problem of repairs - Non availab ility of p etrol and other consumables - Shortage of trained and skilled manp ower - Lack of in itiative in use of small track machines (ii) Experience with RCRV: For MM U-I rail cum road vehicle h as been sp ecified for mobility and it was introduced on ALD & KTT division for exp eriment. Following are the

constraints with RCRV;

(i) (ii)

Its movement on rail is on p aper line clear, due to track circu iting and axle counter problem. Excessive down time of the machine as the know how of rep airs of this machin e is not locally availab le. Havin g AM C with the supp lier M /s Phooltas, Patna has not been found satisfactory & workable. Infringement at Level crossings durin g on-track in g/off-trackin g, and infrin gement on adjacent track on double line section will require 5-10 minutes block on both up and down lines Pay load limit of p resent RCRV is only 3.5 tonnes, hence constraint in movement of man, material & machin ery .

(iii)

(iv)

7.0 S UGGES TIONS REGARDING MOBILE MAINTENANCE S YS TEM: For imp lementation of stip ulated sy stem of mobile maintenance followin g is suggested: (i) Availability of small track machines : Availability of small track machine as per yard stick be ensured by stip ulated time for comp lete mechanisation. Sin ce as per manual CE/TMC is given p rocurement p ower in resp ect to small track machin es centralized supply of small track machine along with 3 y ear AM C be arranged from Zonal Railway HQs. (ii) Separate unit for small track machine maintenance : Since these machin es primarily involve low p ower generators, small mech anical en gine, p reliminary electrical & hy draulic circuit, it is not p ossible to maintain these machines unless a dedicated maintenance un it for small track mach ine is p rovided with each ADEN unit. Following small track machin e maintenance un it is p roposed; Sl No 1 Post SSE/ (SMTMC) No 1 Qualification Yardstick

Degree/ Dip loma in 1 p er Div for indep endent Mech/ Elect/ Automobile monitoring of small track

machin es in the division. 2 3 4 4 SE/JE (SMTMC) Fitter (M ech) Fitter (Elect) Help er 1 1 1 2 Dip loma in M ech/ Elect/ Automobile ITI ITI 8 th Pass 1 p er ADEN 1 p er ADEN 1 p er ADEN 2 p er ADEN

Each ADEN shall hav e small track machin e maintenance dep ot under SE/JE as mentioned above who shall ensure p rop er maintenance alon g with necessary inventory p lanning. (iii) Mobility of small track machines : The duties assigned to MMU-I indicate that the maximu m workload of transp orting Small Track M achines (STMs), handling new/released track material and man p ower are assigned to it. Therefore, reliable transp ortation for MMU-I is one of the key issues for ensuring success of this system. Due to the constraints of RCRV, it is su ggested that transp ortation sep arately by rail and road is to be p rovided. Transpo rta tion by rail , a self-p rop elled rail mobile vehicle (RM V) comprising 8-wheeler unit with a long p latform, driv in g cab, a cran e (of about 2.5 T capacity ) and covered/op en sp ace is suggested to be p rovided per ADEN. On KRCL rail mobile veh icle (RM V) is bein g used and is quite successful. Transpo rta tion by road : One truck p er ADEN for MMU-II and one pick up van ( eg TATA mobile) round the clock with every in-charge PWI for MMU-I is to be provided. On BSB division of NE Railway contract for p rovision of truck with every ADEN and p rovision of Tata mobile (Pick up van ) with each in-charge PWI round the clo ck has been made. M ost of the small track mach ines are easily transp ortable by Pick up van. Hence for day to day working the MMU-I has to move with required machines with Pick up van and in sp ecial circu mstances truck & Rail vehicle av ailable with ADEN are to be utilized on p lanned basis. (iv) Modification in small track machine: A recent develop ment of common electrical power pack for op eration of rail drillin g machin e, rail cutting machine (both saw typ e and abrasive d isc typ e ), weld trimmer and rail p rofile weld grind in g machine makes these machines lighter in weight and op erator-friendly . The common p ower pack will considerab ly reduce the maintenan ce works as the p rime movers of these machin es are electrical motors in p lace of ind ividual I.C. En gin es (v) Pro vision of AMC for small track machine: In line with provision of AMC for On track machines, there is requirement of comprehensive maintenance cov er for small track machine. It is suggested that one AM C contract for small track machine be provisioned at divisional lev el.

(vi) Creation of manpower: For p erformin g the job as assign ed to MMU-I, ITI trained/skilled staff is required for op eration of small track mach ines. (vii) Creation of imprest: An imp rest of minimum Rs 10,000/- p er PWI in-charge is to be p rovided for small rep airs and p urchase of sp ares & consumables.

(viii) Training of staff: There is very little awareness of functioning, troubleshooting of small track machine. It is p rop osed that a regular course at IRTMTC /ALD be initiated. 8.0 INTRODUCTION OF NEW ON-TRACK MACHIN ES : For the need of growing traffic density , running of higher axle load trains and increasing speed of p assenger trains followin g new generation machines are suggested for introduction on Indian Railway : (i) Dynamic Tamping Ex press (09-4X) : The 09-4X Dy namic Tamp ing Exp ress incorp orates a continuous-action four-sleep er tamp ing unit, paired with two stablising units on an articulated trailer. It has a transfer sp eed of 120 Km/hr, a set up time of about 2-3 minutes, and achieves an outp ut of upto 2600 meter/hr.

The new features of the 09-4X Dy namic Tamp ing Exp ress are the four-sleeper tracktamp ing units, which for the first time enable four sleep ers to be tamp ed in one cy cle. Additionally the units are in split design so that, if required, in the case of irregular sleep er spacing, work can be p erformed as a two-sleeper or single sleep er-tamp ing machine. For the maintenance of lines with a high d ensity of traffic, this brings a new defin ition of maintenance sp eed. The subsequent app lication of the stabilisin g units achieves a p erfection condition of the track geometry , as well as compactin g the ballast, with a simultaneous increase of the track's resistance to lateral displacement. This p roduces absolute uniformity in the treatment of the track. (ii) Points & crossing tamping machine (Unimat 09/4S ): It is a multi-function tamp ing machin e with four rail tamping capability in swit ches and cross-overs and has fully automatic track lifting, lin in g, and cross-levelin g cap abilities. It is specially designed for the stringent requirements of a high d ensity , high tonnage railway.

(iii) Ballast cleaning machine (RM 800 S uper 3S & RMW 1500) : Conventional ballast cleanin g machin es featuring on e excav ation chain and one screen, such as RM 80,

RM 800 S uper 3S achiev e a screenin g outp ut of 500-700 Cum/hr. Thus new machines have been dev elop ed, starting with the RM 800, which is equipp ed with two screens and a large excavation chain that is continuously adjustable in width. The RM 800 was followed by machines of RM 900 series, which achieve an output between 800 and 1000 cum/h. Today state-of-the-art are the RM 800 Super 3s, equipp ed with three screens and one excav ation chain, and the RM W 1500 which is equipp ed with three screens and two excavation chains, and has an excavation cap acity of 1500 cum/h. (iv) Mechanised Formation Rehabilitation: On Railway lines without a sound sub structure, track maintenance intervals will decrease, which leads to reduction in the service life of track co mp onents. Moreover due to the formation problems sp eed restrictions are required to be imp osed due to deficiencies in lon gitudinal and cross lev els. On Indian R ailway s runnin g of h igher axle lo ads viz CC+8+2 & CC+10+2 etc have already been p ermitted on the age-o ld formation. Moreover the feeder routes of DFC are to be strengthened for runnin g of 25T axle loads. It has been observ ed in the field that formation has started giving the p roblem due to higher axle loads and soil p roblems, which require the rehabilitation of formation. At p resent Indian Railway is not having any machin e for formation reh abilitation and lookin g to the requirement there is a need to p rocure these machines. There are following latest develop ed machines av ailable for formation rehab ilitation: (i) AHM 800 R : (Incorporating ballast recycling ) Plasser & Theurer designed the AHM 800 R excavating machin e, which incorp orated for the first time a p rocess for material recy clin g into a heavy -duty machine. This machin e has been in serv ice for the rehabilitation of existing lines on Austrian Federal Railway s (BB) since 1994. The results can certainly be termed as very good, and it has achiev ed an average annual outp ut of app rox 50 Km.

Sequence of work during formation rehabilitation using the AHM 800 R No hindrance to adjacent track even during operations No hindrance to adjacent track even durin g op eration

Removal of the top lay er of ballast using excavating ch ain 1 and transp ort to the crushing p lant Excavation of the remain in g ballast bed material usin g excavatin g chain 2 and transp ort of the sp oil Smoothing the formation crown Breakin g the ballast material in the crushin g plant and transp ort to the mixer Production of a sand-gravel mixture for the formation p rotective layer in the mixing plant adding new FPL material and water Continual adjustment and checkin g of the water content of the sand-grav el mixture for an ideal degree of consolid ation of the FPL Insertion of geotextiles, geo grid or P VP formation rehab ilitation slabs is p ossible Insertion of the sand-gravel mixture for the formation p rotective lay er in the required thickness Regu lating and consolidatin g the sand-gravel mixture to the p rescribed degree using large p late compactors Sup p ly of the required material usin g towed M FS material convey or and hop per units Results and quality control Finished metre outp uts of up to 250 metres per day (p reviously not thought p ossible) were achiev ed in two-shift operation with this machine. The AHM 800 R itself enables consid erable savin gs during formation rehabilitation, for examp le: Installation of a p rotective lay er without removing the existing track. Recy cling of the old track ballast, thus fewer transp ort costs, savings of up to 50% new material, fewer costs for transp ort to and from the site, dump ing, sp ecialist disp osal, recultivation and energy . Option for simultaneous insertion of geotextiles in one op eration. Workin g outp ut of 40 to 80 m/h, dep ending upon the thickness of the new protective lay er Rail services not hindered on the adjacent track. Reduction of track p ossessions by up to 50%, thus reduction of op erational hindrance costs. Comp lete worksite op eration includin g transp ort of material to and from the worksite only in the track und er rep air, thus less environ mental d amage, no construction of temp orary access roads, no road traffic. Besides these advantages which come directly from the app lication of the machine, the installation of a high quality formation p rotective layer such as that p roduced by the AHM

800 R, has wid e-ran ging p ositive effects on the maintenance costs. The prop erly installed protective lay er with geotextiles brin gs a high in itial quality of the track with an additional quality reserve. The maintenance expenses are minimised and the serv ice life of the track extended. (ii) RPM 2002 / RPMW 2002-2 Formation rehabilitation machine with integrated ballast recycling The RPM 2002 and RPM W 2002-2 built by Plasser & Theurer are machines of the latest design for fu lly mechanised installation of a formation p rotective layer, followed by placement of the ballast lay er, using recy cled ballast material. Optimum ballast cleaning and processing

Excavation - smoothing the earth formation installation of a new protective layer laid on a geotextile

Unrolling the geotextile

The movements of material within the machine are p erformed in direct lines and without unnecessary detours. The ballast excavatin g ch ain picks up the top lay er of ballast (the recy clable p art of the old ballast bed). The required excavatin g dep th can be adjusted exactly . This ensures that as much re-useable ballast can be reclaimed as p ossible. The RPM W 2002-2 sep arates the ballast from cohesive material usin g a star screen (sy stem Wiebe) as well as a high p ressure water sp ray ing unit before it is p rocessed by the cone crusher and the vibrating screen for re-use. The formation excavating chain removes the remain ing material down to the earth formation with a maximum excavation outp ut of 800 cubic metres p er hour. Excavation width, excavation dep th and formation crossfall can be ad justed exactly and step lessly . The resulting subsoil formation is consolidated using smoothin g devices. If required, a geotextile can now be laid. A slewing conv eyor belt distributes the FPL material uniformly across the entire width. The profiling device grad es the material dep osited and six p late consolidators comp act the FPL material to make the finished formation p rotective lay er.

The recycled ballast is inserted in exact quantities through distributor chutes. The p acking device can be used to fill the ballast underneath the track. Other distributor devices fill the area of the tamp ing zones with ballast. If required, new ballast is transp orted from the specially adap ted material convey or and hopp er units to the ballasting area. To complete the working p rocess the track is tamp ed. The final track geometry is measured and recorded by the p lotter unit. The advantages of the RPMW 2002-2 Machine for fully mechanised installation of a formation p rotective layer and a ballast bed, with integrated ballast recyclin g High workin g outp ut of app rox. 100 metres p er hour Op eration even in short track possessions Pre-cleanin g and fin e cleanin g of the old b allast Enhanced cleanin g qu ality due to use of a rail-mounted star screen un it and a high pressure water spray unit Crushing p lant to sharp en the old ballast Material transp ort only in the track under rep air Transp ort of new material in MFS units Integrated lev ellin g, liftin g, linin g and tamp in g CONCLUS ION: (i) Comp lete & effective mechan ization of track maintenance is the need of the hour. The deploy ment of on track machines is to be judiciously p lanned for its optimum utilization. For imp lementation of mobile maintenance sy stem we have to establish the effective system of maintenance of small track machin es. The mobility of mobile maintenance units is to be imp roved by p roviding rail vehicle & ap p rop riate road vehicle

(ii)

(iii) The manpower required for the mob ile maintenance sy stem is to be sp ecified and selection/recruitment p rocedure is to be established. There is a need of mass recruitment of ITI trained staff for op eration and maintenance of machines. (iv) Due to growing traffic and availability of less maintenance blocks, we have to go for p rocurement of latest state-of-the-art new generation high p erformance machines. For running of higher axle loads the issues of formation rehabilitaion can be addressed by introduction of formation treatment machines.