Welding failure in rail tracks a threat to rail safety

Chennai:
Indian rail tracks are facing shorter life due to heavier axle loads and lack of welding procedures and the government is spending Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 5,500 crore in replacement of tracks, according to a senior railway board official.

AP Mishra, Member Engineering, Railway Board and President, Institute of Permanent Way Engineers (IPWE), told reporters on the sidelines of the National Technical Seminar of IPWE Friday that Indian railways in a bid to cut down on rail accidents mainly caused due to weld failures is acquiring long rails from Bhilai steel plant.

Welding of railway track is a bigger problem for railways as it requires regular maintenance due to the amount of traffic the railway tracks are taking in. As such Indian railways is going to replace the 26 metre rail to 130 metre rail from next year as this will cut short the welding exercise, Mishra said.

Mishra said the rail accidents relating to track engineering may have come down from 27 last year to 14-15 accidents in the first nine months this year. However, he cautioned that accidents linked to maintenance of tracks, including rail weld failure, is increasing. “Earlier one third of accidents were caused due to weld failures but now it has risen up to two third,” warned Mishra.

Interestingly, the biggest problem is that rail traffic has more or less doubled without any addition to the tracks. He said railway tracks are carrying loads heavier than they are expected as such the tracks wear out soon and require regular maintenance. Currently, the axle load the track is taking is 22.9 tonnes, which is likely to increase to 25. The axle load is related to the strength of the track, which is determined by weight of rails, density of sleepers and fixtures, train speeds, amount of ballast, and strength of bridges.