Indian Railways Thread

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Aug 2015 21:58

Tokyo Railway Station. Cut Diagram showing multi level facility

Kita Senju Station in Japan. It serves about 2.5 lakhs commuters daily. Image with famous Mall. It is again multi level facility with at Grade and elevated track stations platform.

Bus terminus right outside Shibuya Station .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibuya_S ... rminal.jpg
Platform. Check the flooring. Non slippery, clean and marked.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... atform.jpg

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Aug 2015 22:05

This is Shinjuku Station with Main JR lines and Metro lines criss-crossing at the station is all directions. The level of planning is mind boggling. You just get down from main platform and go to your desired metro within the station complex while doing shopping on the way.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 31 Aug 2015 09:40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U7W5dbrWwc

same for car parks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOR25PjV0wI

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 02 Sep 2015 05:30

I found an obscure entry in the Journal: Indian Engineering from 1906. It describes ongoing doubling work on the GIP( Great Indian Peninsular Railway) the forerunner of Central Railway. You would see GIP markers all along the old Jhansi-Mumbai route. The entry states that Khandwa-Itarsi had been doubled by then and the GIP was considering two routes for Bhopal-Itarsi doubling. One to follow the existing single line route, that would involve 56 miles of track, and an average gradient of 1/200 with 1/80( that is sine theta) over the 11 mile ghat section which we saw in the video and a consideration was being given to a 112 mile roundabout route also to avoid the ghat. Obviously they went straight through. The entry also talks about the "Nerbudda bridge" that is the masonry bridge built for the grand sum of Rs 9.5 lakhs when the line was inaugurated in 1884 by the Begum of Bhopal a formidable woman. Thus both bridges are 100 years old and the masonry one 131 years old.

Also I made a small mistake, the source of the Tapti is not Pandhurna village but Multai village, 20 miles apart, and both on the Delhi-Chennai route, with Multai closer to Delhi. Pandhurna has a curious custom called Gotmar. On a certain day the villagers of Pandhurna and some other village have a contest called Gotmar. A flag is planted and the villagers of the two villages try to steal the flag. Rocks and stones(Got) are used to bash the people who try and deaths have been recorded. I am not sure if this Gotmar has been banned or some less violent form still prevails.

Indian Engineering 1906

Vadivel · Post by **Vadivel** » 02 Sep 2015 05:57

chaanakya wrote:Tokyo Railway Station. Cut Diagram showing multi level facility

Minor nitpick, there is a urban legend that Tokyo station is very dangerous because since it has many levels, if a tsunami hits, its going to be hard to get out.

But most stations are business hubs, with many offices, malls, restaurants developed over the platform, which being why having a car in Tokyo is waste of money.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 02 Sep 2015 07:07

Shinjuku and Shibuya stations are not close to Tokyo Bay but a few kilometers in. Tokyo Station is mostly at level, and is primarily the Shinkansen bullet train terminus, not an underground labyrinth. Ikebukuro would be even further in. Further, the bay itself is sheltered by a narrow inlet near Yokosuka, and the mouth of the inlet would absorb most of the energy. Both Shinjuku and Shibuya stations are massive, but extremely well organized. Their rail system is a joy to use. With local counsel, I entirely avoided it during rush hour, of course.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Sep 2015 07:42

tsunami's tend to rear up higher and cause more damage when they get into shallow bays from deeper water.
we have already seen that in the last japan quake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0YOXVlPUu4

some people were unaware and still driving cars next to the seawall where water level was about to tip over

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 02 Sep 2015 08:58

Yes they do, but the bay has to be open to the open ocean for that. Tokyo Bay is not - it has a fairly secluded inlet that opens up towards the south/southeast, and downtown Tokyo itself occupies the far end on the northwest part. Yokohama further south is more likely to face damage. But the larger point is there's a lot of natural geography at the inlet to the bay to absorb a lot of the energy from the hit. Sendai on the other hand, pretty much faces the Pacific directly. No doubt Tokyo would be inundated, but not as dramatically as Sendai would, IMHO. Anyway, OT.

Vadivel · Post by **Vadivel** » 02 Sep 2015 09:13

Any BRFite in Tokyo, like to meet up with them for sure.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Sep 2015 09:51

japan is also blessed with the inland sea, fronted by many industrial cities.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 03 Sep 2015 10:04

@rhytha

Japan constantly faces two natural disasters Quake and Tsunami. So what you say could be possible. My idea was to show what could be conceived for NDLS or other metro cities. Making stations convenient to use as commuting hub, business hub, shopping mall, even entertainment hub and multi modal transportation hub. We can go vertical as well as underground. Provide lifts, escalators, walkalators,ramps, battery cars. Access to platform should be only for passengers beyond turnstile.Different types of tickets obtainable from variety of outlets. Concept of check in luggage , luggage collection ramp, luggage tagging and drop counters could be provided. Provide trolley for luggage.

I was able to move around in Tokyo without much knowing japanese. Getting tickets, passes were damn easy once you use it for the first time.
Of course peak hour is something to be avoided.

Delhi may not have tsunami but quake is a constant threat. I believe one can design for such eventuality to a large extent. And we should have friendly Emergency response system in place to help. If we want to develop world class infrastructure we need to see good points others have. Like in Barcelona ( and elsewhere as well) Metro entrance was at every corner of crossing, one was just in front of our hotel. A small one connecting to main corridor underground.

In Japan nobody checked tickets. Everyone swiped or inserted tickets , well almost except one case that I saw jumping turnstile.

In Berlin Ticket checker did not fine, but charged from the originating station if caught in the middle. One could get ticket in the train with handheld device after boarding the train. Of course crowd was less.
What struck me most was the stations by the wayside too had high standards and mini shopping complex and escalators+lift+ramp.

In India and within the planning commission , the idea was to build more of the same at the least cost and to cater to largest possible number at worst possible quality. One planning commission advosor was objecting to the tiles put in toilets saying that with the extra money saved we could have more toilets. Idea was to build infrastructure to reach the " teeming masses" with emphasis on least cost. Quality was the last concern. That could have been true during "Secular rate of growth" of economy. Not any more. We have "Dharmic rate of growth" and we should build world class infrastructure.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 03 Sep 2015 11:14

Suresh Prabhu bares details of rail reform agenda

Aiming to bring in more efficient work practices, railway minister Suresh Prabhu has instructed heads of six production units (PUs) and 42 workshops to draft short, medium and long term production plans to increase productivity and bring transparency.

“Processes and systems need to become outcome-oriented. The railways need to do business differently,” Prabhu told HT.

Caught up in procedural issues and red tape, rail PUs and workshops have been slow to adapt to new technology. Work orders are usually assigned to them after the end of six months in a financial year, while these have often been changed mid-course.

In his preliminary suggestions, former DRDO chief Dr. VK Saraswat — assigned the task of working out a rail revival plan — has emphasised the need to change the cycle of the work schedule for PUs and workshops, sources said.

“The organisation needs to adopt an outcome-oriented approach. As part of the decentralisation process, MoUs will be signed between the railway board and different zonal railways. GMs and heads of PUs are being assigned targets and these are being monitored on a regular basis. The outcome of such activity will become visible in due course,” Prabhu said.

To enable the organisation to reach international benchmarks, Prabhu is also working at ramping up R&D activities by engaging IITs and other educational institutions to conduct fundamental research in the sector.

“We have already firmed up MoUs with top institutes, including the Chennai and Mumbai IITs, besides the BHU and the Mumbai University. The proposal to set up a dedicated railway university is progressing. The Research and Design Organisation (RDSO) is also developing new design trains to provide for greater passenger safety,” Prabhu said

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 04 Sep 2015 15:32

few things we can do for reducing derailments

- larger wheel base for existing coaches
- strengthen the tracks
- install control systems to sense derailment and begin deceleration as much as possible
- test many things we want in the new coach design with existing ones.

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 05 Sep 2015 20:52

Here is a comparison of Railway accident statistics in the UK and on Indian Railways during 2013-2014.

UK Statistics:

http://www.rail.co.uk/rail-news/2014/an ... ty-review/

Indian Statistics:

https://factly.in/indian-railway-accide ... t-5-years/

In 1956, there was a major IR disaster at Ariyalur with 142 dead. The Railway Minister was one Lal Bahadur Shastri, who most of you know was PM 50 years ago during the 1965 war. LBS took total responsibility and resigned his position and his resignation was accepted. The proceedings of the Lok Sabha and JLN's speech are available. The events of the Ariyalur disaster was a flash flood similar to the Harda derailment a few weeks ago. Just two days ago, the Egmore-Mangalore Mail derailed and 28 people have been hurt.
A first person account by Joyce Vernem of the Ariyalur disaster of 1956:

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-pa ... 740973.ece

In all this comes news that one Railway zone has completely eliminated unmanned crossings under it's jurisdiction:

http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/ ... 006776.ece

It may not mean much as the recent incident of the Bangalore-Nanded express indicates that adventurous truck drivers will barrel through a manned crossing, but it is better than nothing.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 06 Sep 2015 06:29

that truck driver was stone drunk or was the cleaner was driving and panicked at high speed. there was a barrier being a manned crossing.

manjgu · Post by **manjgu** » 06 Sep 2015 17:50

very nice serial on BBC abt indian railways..today they showed CSTM control centre.... awesome...

Hitesh · Post by **Hitesh** » 06 Sep 2015 19:08

video link pls.

ldev · Post by **ldev** » 06 Sep 2015 19:35

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLV2iTtQRDE

vasu raya · Post by **vasu raya** » 06 Sep 2015 20:29

10 years lead time from sanction to production, highlight though is the 3 shifts schedule which every PSU involved in production can imbibe; anyways after all the trouble why didn't they keep the focus on double decker coaches

Raebareli coach factory to start full-fledged production of coaches by end of the year

Info:

Project sanctioned -- November 2006

Foundation laid -- February 2007

Land acquisition started -- August 2007

Sanctioned cost -- Rs 1685 crore

Cost escalation (due to delay) -- Rs 2500 crore

Target (when announced) -- rolling out 1,000 coaches per year

Land acquired -- 541 hectare

Land for factory -- only 167 hectare

Construction started -- February 2009

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 08 Sep 2015 18:38

So it seems they are going to replace the non-Rajdhani, non-Satabdi trains with LHB coaches.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 08 Sep 2015 19:05

^^They've already been doing that, but slowly. There were a bunch of issues that are being resolved, but still slowly:

1. There was a shortage of the new type of bogies (FIAT) for the LHB coaches, so the turnout was slow all these years.

2. It was compounded by some issues in the general sitting coaches attached at the end of each rake. So trials took longer, but this got resolved last year.

3. Then, length - LHB rakes are 22 coaches long against the 24 coach ICF rakes (with LHB coach having greater carrying capacity), so the number of general coaches will reduce upon upgrade, since the railways won't want to reduce revenue generating reserved coaches. This will be unpopular with the poorer passengers, who depend on the general coaches to get around cheaply. To have the same number of coaches, platform lengths need to be increased to accommodate 26 coach ICF/24 coach LHB, and longer rake operations worked out. This is being trialed now. In the meantime, the trains are run with 22 coaches only.

4. LHB rakes require extra generator cars, taking up more space in the formation. This is because the AC coaches don't have the self-gen equipment to recharge their batteries that the ICF coaches have, to reduce their weight. It is more efficient to have a single gen car delivering power to coaches that each generating its own through less efficient dynamos. This will also impact the length, though not as much as reducing the general coaches, for the gen cars don't need to be in the platform during stops. As long as the full formation can be parked in a platform/loop line without blocking the main line (this is called the fouling point), it's not an issue.

The reason I still mentioned this as a blocker is that these gen cars all run on diesel, and I am not aware of IR deciding to employ these cars on all rakes. They are still experimenting with the loco's hotel load facility, whereby the loco draws power from the OHE and supplies the additional power for AC from this arrangement. This does not need gen cars. For some reason, IR has been reticent to try and deploy the hotel load facility on its locos, though its newer ones have the facility, the older ones could be upgraded if needed. Even then, the working rules mandate the provision of a backup source of power in case the OHE fails, so the rake will need at least one gen car to be used in case of emergency. So the rake length will be the same - 26 coaches + 1 gen car with no advantage of hotel load. I am not sure what their latest thinking on this is. Perhaps vsunder saar might draw upon his encyclopaedic knowledge?

Anyway, IRFCA has a list of such LHB provisioned trains and till now, it has been dominated by Rajdhani/Shtabdi/Durontos. Now expresses like Poorva, Purushottam, Shiv Ganga expresses have joined that list, and more are. Latest being (rumoured) Madras-Thiruvananthapuram mail. But these will continue to stay 22 coaches + gen cars for the near future. Let's see.

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 08 Sep 2015 20:13

Why Arshyam, you are doing great, excellent write-up ^^. I have always wondered why IR does not use the hotel load facility. WAP-4 has the ability too. The thought of LPG cylinders in the pantry car just makes things scary. A hotel load means they can use electric stoves to do the cooking and introduce more safety and save on diesel in the gen car and the attendant pollution. Of course on lines with no electric traction one is forced to use LPG etc. and the gen car like on Konkan Railway.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 08 Sep 2015 21:09

IRFC to facilitate Indian Railways Rs 1,50,000 cr LIC loan

The Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), the borrower for the national transporter, will play the intermediary for raising a large part of the proposed Rs 1,50,000-crore loan from state-run Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) as well; the instrument will be a 30-year paper with competitive rates for the railways, IRFC’s managing director Rajiv Datt said. The loan from LIC will be raised over five years and will be used for capacity expansion of the railways, he said, adding that funds would be deployed in long-term projects with relatively higher rates of return.

While the Indian Railways (IR) can’t borrow directly and use the services of IRFC, some of the rail PSUs like IRCON and RITES will be raising funds from the LIC for their own projects. Between the IRFC and other rail PSUs, around Rs 17,000 crore will be raised from LIC this year, sources said.

IRFC has raised over Rs 1.3 lakh crore from the market for the railways over the last 26 years; it owns the rolling stock (engines, coaches and wagons) procured by the transporter and receive rentals from the transporter under a finance lease arrangement.

This single loan from LIC to IR exceeds all of the money raised by IRFC in the past 26 years.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 08 Sep 2015 21:13

in a country where power cuts are common and unpredictable, how does IR ensure the electric power lines never go dead esp in areas like UP and Bihar which are not known as power surplus or having great utilities?

I have read once or twice when entire northern grid tripped, electric trains did grind to a halt.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 08 Sep 2015 22:09

Railways in India are bulk consumer of electricity and get priority over other demand. They are supplied by NTPC.
As for other systems that ensures functionality of the entire electrical traction system please refer to the excellent book
http://www.irieen.indianrailways.gov.in ... supply.pdf

nandakumar · Post by **nandakumar** » 09 Sep 2015 10:21

chaanakya wrote:Railways in India are bulk consumer of electricity and get priority over other demand. They are supplied by NTPC.
As for other systems that ensures functionality of the entire electrical traction system please refer to the excellent book
http://www.irieen.indianrailways.gov.in ... supply.pdf

Does the electricity that is supplied by NTPC bypasses the State Grid? In that case NTPC needs to have off-grid transmission network. Not sure, that is the case. Some additional information would be useful.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 09 Sep 2015 15:10

There is National Transmission Grid divided in five zones: Northern Grid, Eastern Grid, North-Eastern Grid ,Western Grid and Southern Grid. Each Grid has various feeder lines to provide Interface to Local distribution network of State which are themselves sub-divided to provide for load balancing and isolation. These feeder lines provide for import interface between both the national grid and State grid in a voltage hierachy. State Grid is kept at lower voltage, obviously. They are sand-witched between NTG and Local Distribution . Power is suitably stepped down to state Grid like 110 or 33 KV sub stations which feed then local grids stepping down further as it goes towards zone/locality/Street level distribution transformer.National Transmission Grid also has dedicated feeder lines to Railway Network on similar lines but they provide power at parameters specified by railways. National Transmission Grid is operated by PowerGrid Corp. If a particular Grid is tripped then only supply would be disrupted. Otherwise entire electrification of railway is build upon redundancies and rigorous maintenance. But sometimes local issues to cause disruptions and we do not become aware unless affected. Usually power is restored in double quick time or diesel traction is provided so inconvenience is kept to the minimum.

nandakumar · Post by **nandakumar** » 09 Sep 2015 16:44

chaanakya wrote:There is National Transmission Grid divided in five zones: Northern Grid, Eastern Grid, North-Eastern Grid ,Western Grid and Southern Grid. Each Grid has various feeder lines to provide Interface to Local distribution network of State which are themselves sub-divided to provide for load balancing and isolation. These feeder lines provide for import interface between both the national grid and State grid in a voltage hierachy. State Grid is kept at lower voltage, obviously. They are sand-witched between NTG and Local Distribution . Power is suitably stepped down to state Grid like 110 or 33 KV sub stations which feed then local grids stepping down further as it goes towards zone/locality/Street level distribution transformer.National Transmission Grid also has dedicated feeder lines to Railway Network on similar lines but they provide power at parameters specified by railways. National Transmission Grid is operated by PowerGrid Corp. If a particular Grid is tripped then only supply would be disrupted. Otherwise entire electrification of railway is build upon redundancies and rigorous maintenance. But sometimes local issues to cause disruptions and we do not become aware unless affected. Usually power is restored in double quick time or diesel traction is provided so inconvenience is kept to the minimum.

Got it. Thanks.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 09 Sep 2015 21:38

xpost from India-Japan thread:

SSridhar wrote:Japan to modernize Indian railway stations - PTI
Japan has agreed to modernise railway stations across the country while participating in Indian Railways' $140 billion investment plan over the next five years.

A Japanese delegation will soon visit India to study the opportunities for industries in the railway station development plan of railways as the public transporter has identified 400 stations to be upgraded in private investment, an official release said here today.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, who is in Japan to strengthen cooperation in rail sector, held a series of high-level meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso among other ministers and senior officials and has highlighted that the Indian public transporter would be the next major destination for infrastructure investment worth $140 billion, it said.

Participation of Japanese railways and Japanese companies in various areas of Indian Railways with the aim of modernisation and technology upgradation was also emphasised in the discussions.

While agreeing for cooperation on modernisation and upgradation, Japan has agreed to assist the public transporter in achieving its zero-accident mission.

Railways research wing - Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO), will sign an MoU with Railway Technical Research Institute of Japan to carry out research work on acquiring modern technology for the public transporter, as per the finalisation of the action plan.

Prabhu also held meetings with heads of leading financial institutions and highlighted the investment prospects in railways in the coming years. Railways has chalked out a plan to investment $140 billion in infrastructure upgradation in the next five years, the release said.

Japan will also provide its expertise and technology in solving problems of sanitation including the development of waterless, odourless toilets in trains and at stations, it added.

Besides, the country has also agreed to assist Indian Railways in development of a legal and regulatory framework on high speed railway here, the official statement said.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 10 Sep 2015 19:31

Massive but implementation has to be faster than what it has been if the govt is to present some progress before 2019.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 Sep 2015 08:53

two more fatal derailments yesterday

- duronto express hyd-mumbai somewhere in north karnataka. derailed bogies dragged for 600m.
- narrow gauge kalka to shimla train hired by a ground of foreign tourists . 2 dead. this is only 2nd fatal accident in its 100 yr history

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 13 Sep 2015 19:03

Bridge across the Tungabhadra at Hospet, line doubling Mormugoa port, Vasco-da-Gama, Londa, Hubli, Hospet to Gooty and Guntakal. Goal is to build capacity to evacuate coal and minerals from ports. This is one of Prabhu's pet projects, lot of money in this budget,

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost. ... ount=17359
The Tunga is at it's prettiest in these parts. This stretches all the way to Hampi. If you have seen this
the rocks, the Tunga, this land, this India.
The Duronto accident, occurred at a station near Gulbarga, Gulbarga-Solapur is single line, part of the Mumbai-Chennai route that has remained single line for years. Doubling has occured between Pune-Daund- Bhigwan. Bhigwan-Mohol doubling is ongoing for years, there is a bridge across the Bhima. Mohol -Solapur-Hotgi is doubled. Hotgi-Akkalkot Road( same place as Swami Samarth, that one tough guy hehehe)-Ganagapur Road( as the board says Alight here for Dattatreya temple, some know what I am talking about, some will be called but not all can go)- Gulbarga is still single lined. Gulbarga-Raichur onwards to Chennai it is doubled. I had remarked above that the contractor failed to meet deadlines and his contract to double Gulbarga-Solapur is cancelled, some report in a Marathi newspaper that I had linked. Time and again it is becoming clear that you need downtime, to maintain tracks, cannot run lines at 140% capacity and expect no accidents.
For example freight loco pilots complain that it takes them 24-36 hours from Yellahanka to Guntakal.
System needs Drano and really fast. Nice to have super-duper looking stations but if the tracks are killer tracks and freight travels at bullock cart speed then there is a serious issue.

Also there are serious issues with blanketing track beds system wide. Will post about that. There is a FEM(Finite element method) study by IIT Madras on blanketing and also a RDSO report. I have a suspicion that the Chitteri jinx that Arshyam talked about and other accidents have their origins in poor roadbed which is a historical thing. When these routes were laid, the idea of the private companies was to lay tracks quickly and get revenue, loads were low and frequency of trains not much so no issue. Now these issues have become critical and you cannot put a mega block and rectify them. They are having better sense with the Dedicated Freight Corridors. They have paid a lot of attention to proper blanketing in the clay soil of the Doab( land between Ganga and Yamuna) what with 32.5 tonnes axle loads etc. For example careful blanketing has taken place to about 60km between Khurja and Bhaupur( near Kanpur)

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost. ... ount=17385

Historical Note: Since I mentioned the Tungabhadra. Here is a historical note. The mother of one Alan Turing some computer chappie was a Miss Stoney. She belonged to an IR family. She was born in the Railway colony in Podanur, oh with this thread crawling with experts, you know Podanur, Madukarai( check it's connections with the Thambis of the Madras Regiment) ( you can see the Amrita Technology institute here now),
Ettimadai and then the infamous gateway to Mallu land, Walayar and the Palghat gap. When I was a little boy all of 3 years, all this was single lined and it was my fervent hope to see tigers while whizzing past in Mangalore Mail in the 1950's but never saw anything, though leopard strikes are common. West Coast express did not exist, there was only ONE train between Madras and Mangalore. But coming back to the mother of the computer chappie Turing, his mom Miss Stoney's dad, Mr. Stoney designed the bridge over the Tunghabhadra near Mantralayam( Raghavendra swami) that carries the Chennai-Mumbai mainline. He was then an employee of the Madras and South Mahratta Railway. The computer chappie was himself conceived in Chattrapur in Andhra Pradesh. The Stoney family built a house in Coonoor and it is now the property of Nandan Nilekani, who did not know of it's computer connections when he bought it.

And you know the truth table chappie, Augustus De Morgan he was also born In India too. NAND NOR gate wallah( I am allowed to say this in IR thread is about gates no

so no thread "derailment", sorry no pun intended, me getting really bad

)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_De_Morgan

Added Later: Tenders for Penukonda-Yellahanka doubling and Arsikere-Tumkur doubling have been published. Why did SWR wait so long? This is a dysfunctional Railway zone, like WCR. Too many institutional problems. WCR is super important being at the heart of the network, but they have Harda derailment( Le gentil homme de Harda like in the Sri Sai Satcharitra), Itarsi fire and the Rail Mantri does nothing, needs to make some heads roll in WCR. Yellahanka-Penukonda was gauge converted in the 1990's. But it was instigated by the Rail mantri one Jaffer Sharief, who did a perfect cockup. He wanted a super fast connection with Dilli from Bangalore. So when the alignment was being thought about, there rose the issue of Makali Ghat, yes the very same video which I linked where the guys on motorbikes catch Karnataka express 4 times. The villagers wanted compensation to go through Makali Durga etc etc, Moulana Jaffer said, Rail lagao, lagao and so they built it on the old alignment with all sorts of tight curves, that can take 80kmph max. If you ever go joy riding towards Guntakal in the daylight you will see the old meter gauge viaducts and alignments in some places, but speeds are low generally again putting in track beds without proper blanketing in the 90's and not fixing the alignment to smooth out curves. The doubling maybe better.

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 14 Sep 2015 01:37

Here is the RDSO document on blanketing. It is well worth a serious study. It tells you historically how the problem arose, as I have explained above. How it is not addressed by just refurbishing the superstructure. That is ballast, rails etc.
Finally I would like to draw your attention to the cost comparison tables, see pages 17-18. That is the cost of doing proper blanketing now and not doing it and paying a serious cost later forever in recurring costs and maintenance issues. It is going to come back and bite you in the rear end as it now has with heavy traffic and loads. It also puts a dent, an upper cut-off limit in the load bearing capacity of the track to 22.5 tonnes axle load as compared to 32.5 tonnes axle loads industry standards, reduced speeds and speed limitations even on straight stretches. The Freight corridors will initially operate at 27.5 tonnes axle loads but are designed to 32.5 tonnes axle loads.
You are not going to increase line speed by thick web switches, better quality and long rails 270m lengths, you have to dig and re-lay large portions of the track bed. The first blanket guidelines were set up by RDSO only in 1978, and have been continuously modified to 2000 and beyond.

http://www.rdso.indianrailways.gov.in/w ... ile/35.pdf

The IIT Madras study gave a very nice diagram of the pressure distribution in pascals around the track in to the bed. It was computed using a Finite element method analysis. Unfortunately I cannot locate it. The RDSO report above quotes an IIT Kanpur study also.

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 14 Sep 2015 03:37

Was searching and searching, see only 1 in 10^6 fanbois makes a video which is of use, rest miss the forest for the trees. At last I see what I wanted. It is always accidental. The Balharshah-Kazipet line was the last link in the Delhi-Chennai route. It was completed in 1929. The bridge over the Godavari at Mancherial, Telengana dates from that period. You will be shivering in your boots to see that original masonry bridge. The second bridge is better. Jeez I must have gone over those bridges gazillion times. But finally IR decided to patch triple line from Peddampet-Mancherial-Ramagundam. Singareni collieries is here and also the Super thermal plant at Ramagundam. This line is completely clogged. The patch tripling is Band Aid and going on for years and years. The big thing is a third bridge across the Godavari for the triple line. But try as I could no video fellow caught it. Finally someone got it inadvertently as is the story always( seems oblivious to it and makes no mention of it, that is the fanbois story). Project was languishing for years under UPA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VPC5VW9LBo

Historical Note: The first train in 1929 on the Delhi-Chennai route was the GT ( Grand Trunk) Express from Mangalore to Peshawar. Yes, Mangalore. It took 104 hours to run that route. After a year or so, the train originated in Metupalayam at the foothills of the Nilgiris. Then after a year or so of that, the train originated from Madras Central from where it has originated ever since. Post independence though the terminating station has been New Delhi, and soon it may be Delhi Sarai Rohilla. The train got it's name because people in those days carried Grand trunks while traveling. Just joking, that is an inside joke, read this book to appreciate the joke:

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Railway-Baz ... 0618658947

The book has this title for a reason. It is not mentioned in the book. But in that lovely town of Cawnpore the site of my early escapades, lies Rail Bazaar near the main station. Theroux while approaching Kanpur asked a traveling companion where he lived to which he answered" oh just near the station in Rail bazaar".
Years later Theroux in an essay revealed this story.

The good news is Prabhu is going to triple Balharshah-Kazipet, lot of money now. Hope this is done fast.
The Godavari bridge is a major bridge on the Balharshah-Kazipet section on the Delhi-Chennai route.

manjgu · Post by **manjgu** » 14 Sep 2015 07:10

very nice series on Indian rail on BBC...sunday morning...2 episodes done 2 to go..
showed a simulator for drivers...ie it takes 12 years to drive a passenger train... very good info on workings on IR...
1st episode showed control centre at CSTM... awesome stuff...

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 14 Sep 2015 07:58

they are showing the official map. pretty good I say, what !

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 14 Sep 2015 08:11

Slowly, Rahul M-saar, ever so slowly....

vsunder-sir, those posts on railways are like, incredibly informative and personal. I did not know the two anglo-Indian writers had association with the railways, though I suspected Shree Bond to have some. Please do consider writing a non-fiction, with chapter upon chapter of free-flowing prose about this lifeline of India.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 14 Sep 2015 14:30

manjgu wrote:ie it takes 12 years to drive a passenger train... very good info on workings on IR...
1st episode showed control centre at CSTM... awesome stuff...

Yes, it takes ages for the assistant drivers to reach the level of "A Special Drivers". And all during this time, they have to be physically fit and especially have proper eye-sight etc. Have read that in case people have problems with their eye-sight, they would get moved to light duties like shunting etc. They would not lose their jobs, but better pay scales etc. would now go out of the window. Same applies for Guards as well. Years are spent on the cabooses of Goods trains, which does not have any proper facility including a light. Today these guards (and drivers) have walkie-talkies, but around 15 years back even that did not exist.

1st episode showed control centre at CSTM... awesome stuff...

Is there a YouTube link (or online version) available? Perhaps CSTM may be one of the few areas where there is a centralised control system in place (and also has a huge automatic block territory). In many other areas, there exists a "Control" at the Divisional HQ, where "Section Controllers" do track the movement of trains. But they cannot actually change the signals, set points etc. These are still done by Station Masters of smaller stations or Cabin ASMs in bigger stations/junctions. All instructions are given on the "control phone" circuit.

hnair wrote: I did not know the two anglo-Indian writers had association with the railways, though I suspected Shree Bond to have some

H നായർ അവർകളേ

. The Anglo-Indians as a community, I feel used to have a very strong relationship with the railways. I have seen this right in the novel of John Masters - Bhowani Junction, all the way to Pamman's novel Chattakaari (made into a Malayalam movie with the same name, and Julie in Hindi). Some where in the early 2000s, the Cochin to Shornur link celebrated its 100 years of existence. The then Cochin King had sold lots of his personal assets to build the line. The famous bird-watcher Induchoodan had written an article about how the stations on this line was decided. Chalakudy was built primarily to enable loading of trunks of wood coming from the Athirapally forest areas (they had another tram line as well), Ollur came up due to the presence of Ayurvedic physicians in the area, Poonkunnam was built mainly based on demands of Tamil Brahmins - who also held high posts on the Railways, who found it easier to reach the Agraharams in the Thrissur town suburbs, and Vettikattiri (today's Vallathol Nagar) had a huge empty area, even though the station was of little importance. It was the last station on Cochin territory, and the kings when arriving at this point had to be given a royal welcome. The larger ground was to facilitate this.
Anglo-Indians' Contributions to Indian Railways

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 14 Sep 2015 15:21

^^
Sachin: The movie Chattakari you talk about was re-made into Hindi as Julie, circa 1975

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_%281975_film%29

There is a small publishing house Anglo-ink based in Chennai that specializes in Anglo-Indian literature. I had linked a recent release by them on the 1965 War thread. It is the book Blood and Steel by Brig. Desmond Hayde of 3 Jat who won a Mahavir Chakra for his actions at Dograi. You can read my post on that thread and links. But Anglo-Ink has a book on IR of reminisces by Anglo-Indians from across the system. There are Jolarpet and Gooty and Guntakal memories. Memories from Chakradharpur, Bhusawal( supposed to be the model for Bhowani Junction) and other famous Loco colonies. Here is a link to the book:( I have a copy of it)

http://www.angloink.com/index.php?route ... duct_id=52

http://angloink.com/

The Contributions of Anglo-Indians to Railways article that you have linked, prompted Gp. Capt. Kapil Bhargava to write his own Anglo-Indians in the IAF story and it is right here on BR:( unfotunately many articles
on BR are 404 nowadays including all the articles by Kukke Suresh, including this one by Bhargava)

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Histo ... nglos.html

Another link outside BR:

http://www.araia.org.au/Anglo%20Indians ... 0Force.htm

vsunder · Post by **vsunder** » 14 Sep 2015 15:33

Regarding Kerala Railways. My memory is this: In the 1950's and 1960's WP steam locos from Arakonnam or Erode shed would haul Mangalore Mail upto Shoranur. For some reason Mangalore Mail would not go through Coimbatore but bypass it via Podanur. At Shoranur there would be an engine change and a North British WG class steam loco would haul the train to Mangalore.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_lo ... e_class_WG

First the train tracks hug the banks of the Bharatapuzha, already a little before Shoranur and then later upto Tirunavayya and then comes the sea and the rivers. I still find this such a thrilling sight from Kozhikode onwards with the open sea.
One route the Kerala Govt. should really bolster as a tourist route is the old Teak logging route, Shoranur-Angadipuram-Nilambur Road. It is still dense forest and the Angadipuram temple has all these historical connections to "The Assassins". There was a proposal to extend that line and link it with Nanjangud near Mysore, but I do not think that is wise, Bandipur Tiger sanctuary intervenes. A guy has made a poor quality video of that route and put it on youtube.