The Indian Railways' Bridge Over

Troubled Tracks
by K.P. Narayana Kumar
Many of Indias railway bridges are over a century old and need
rehabilitation, which is more than what the cash-strapped Indian Railways
can handle


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Image: Amit Verma
A RELIC: The Ganga Bridge at Kanpur which was tested by the RDSO
R
akesh Chopra knows a thing or two about boxing, having been in the ring in
his younger days. Heres a tip. If you get punched once or twice on the
shoulder, it would hurt. But if in a bout, you are hit 20 times on the
shoulder, that can be severely damaging, says the former head of Indian
Railways (IR) engineering directorate. The same is the case with the
railway bridges on IRs gargantuan network, he says. There is a point
beyond which the bridges will simply not be able to endure the stress of
faster and heavier trains.

And since 2007, with Lalu Prasad Yadavs grand plans to generate more
revenue, the century-old bridges have been taking a further beating with
the axle load raised to a maximum of 25 tonnes. Its no wonder then that
the Railways has assigned teams to test and retrofit bridges such as the one
in Koraput, Orissa. The last thing IR needs is to be plagued by another train
accident due to bridge collapse.

The railway ministry has never openly acknowledged that there is a
problem with its bridges. In Parliament, whenever questioned about the
health of its bridges, the ministry has gone into a defensive mode, claiming
everything was under control. However, at a conference held in
Secunderabad earlier this year, perhaps for the first time in an internal
meeting, senior ministry officials let the cat out of the bag. They admitted
that the bridges need closer examination.

The irony was not lost on the engineers who were attending the conference
to celebrate the engineering wings achievements. It included the top brass
S. Jayanth, general manager of South Central Railways, A.K. Goel,
chairman of the Bridges and Structures Committee, and Pradip Kumar,
assistant general manager of South Central Railways all of whom were
aware of the gravity of the situation.

They now have the Herculean task of testing and retrofitting decrepit
bridges across the country. It is a huge challenge considering IR has more
than 36,000 bridges that are over 100 years old. Does the Railways have
the resources to pull off such a mammoth task, especially when its finances
are in a mess? And what about the safety of the passengers till the work is
completed? These questions are answered with an uncomfortable silence by
the concerned authorities.

With the introduction of progressively heavier axle load trains and high
horse power locomotives, bridges are being subjected to much higher loads
than the original design loads. Hence, the main challenge for bridge
engineers today is to assess the strength of the existing bridges and retrofit
them to enable them to carry the enhanced loading, said a delegate from
the railway board. The national transporter needs to carry higher loads to
improve its financial performance and efficiency. With the century-old
bridges falling apart, it is in a catch-22 situation.

The Railways has spent around Rs. 6,000 crore on the repair of bridges in
the last 10 years. That amount would have to be multiplied many a time to
provide the kind of infrastructure that would enable the Railways to carry,
say 32.5 tonnes, says Chopra. He says in the last 10 years, over 2,000
bridges have been repaired.

A team from the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO)
earlier tested the Ganga bridge near Kanpur and the Narmada bridge on the
Itarsi-Jabalpur line. While testing two bridges relics from the Raj on
the Manasi-Saharsa line, the RDSO found major construction flaws that
had caused the bridges to crack. Visual observations give a clear sign of
honeycombing and poor quality of concrete, says the RDSO field report.

The Shaky Bridges
It is unclear whether poor quality of concrete can be blamed for the
collapse of Bridge 924 that caused the tragic Kadalundi train accident in
2001. The accident killed more than 50 people when four carriages of the
Mangalore Mail derailed and plunged into the Kadalundi river in Kerala.
The bridge was more than 140 years old. The accident was also a wake-up
call for the IR on the condition of its antiquated bridges. Since then it has
worked intensely to locate and repair dilapidated bridges.

But even as restoration work continues, collapsing railway bridges continue
to be a thorn in the flesh for the Railways. In 2006, a portion of the 150-
year-old Ultapul rail over bridge in Bhagalpur, Bihar, collapsed over a
passing train when it was being dismantled. Thirty-five people were killed
and 17 were injured. In October 2009, a bridge fell on a local train on the
Thane line in Mumbai and killed two people.

Last year, when there were fears of the River Yamuna flooding Delhi, the
Railways had to stop trains from plying on the Yamuna bridge for a while.
Their major worry was that the swiftly moving water would compromise the
integrity of the structure. Such problems pertaining to the sub-structure
are very common in places such as Kerala where a large number of bridges
have to be inspected underwater. This is why a number of zonal railways
have already started the process of underwater inspections, says Chopra.

The Indian Railways' Bridge Over
Troubled Tracks
by K.P. Narayana Kumar

Read more: http://forbesindia.com/article/real-issue/the-indian-railways-
bridge-over-troubled-tracks/25782/1#ixzz2i6CgVFwP