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 Sh Anand Singh Sh Mukesh Kumar

Dy CE/TMC/JP Sr DEN/1/BSB Sr DEN/PRCL/BVP
NWR NER 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 Particulars Page No

No.
SYNOPSIS 1
1.0 TRACK STRUCTURE ON INDIAN RAILWAY 1
2.0 TRACK MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES 1
3.0 PRESENT SYSTEM OF MECHANIZED MAINTENANCE 2
4.0 ON TRACK MACHINE UNITS 3
4.1 History of mechanization on IR 3
4.2 On track machines on IR 5
Plannin g for Deploy ment of on track 5
4.3
machin es:
4.3.1 Dep loy ment of tamping machines 5
4.3.2 Dep loy ment of other machines 6
5.0 MOBILE MAINTENANCE UNITS (MMU) 7
5.1 Dep loy ment of small track mach ines 7
5.1.1 MMU-I 7
5.1.2 MMU-II 9
5.1.3 Yardstick of small track machines 9
5.1.4 Availability of small track mach ine on IR 10
6.0 ISSUES INVOLVED IN MOBILE M AINTENANCE SYSTEM 11
SUGGESTIONS REGARDING M OBILE M AINTENANCE 12
7.0
SYSTEM
8.0 INTRODUCTION OF NEW ON-TRACK M ACHINES 14
CONCLUSION: 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) On track machines unit TTM, BCM , FRM , DGS, BRM , etc. for p lanned on
(OM U) track maintenance.
(ii) M obile maintenance un its MMU-I: Rail cum road vehicle based, for sp ot
(MMU) 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.
(iii) Sectional gangs (SG) 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.

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 Progre ss/

spee d Effe ctive hour
Tam ping Machines
Super lining control 06-16- 1968 Plasser & 40 400 to 500 sleepers
SLC T heurer, Austria
tamper
Universal 06-16- 1972 -do- 40 500 to 600 sleepers
Tamper USLC
Tamper single 08-16- 1985 -do- 60 800 to 1000 Sleepers
sleeper Unomatic
Tamper Double 08-32- 1986 -do- 60 1400 to 1600
Sleepers Duomatic Sleepers
Continuous T amping 09-32-CSM 1989 -do- 60 2200 to 2400 sleeper
Machine
Tamping Express 09-3X- 2000 -do- 60 2800 to 3500
Three Sleepers CSM Sleepers
Tamper Double 08-32- 2003 -do- 60 1800 sleepers
Sleepers Duomatic
Russian T amper VPR- 2004 Metex, Russia 60 2000 Sleepers
Double Sleepers 02M-18

Tie Tamping Machines – Points & C rossing Tam ping Machine

Points & Crossing 08-275-2S 1990 Plasser & 60 1 Turnout
Tamper Unimat T heurer, Austria
Points & Crossing 08-275-3S 1993 -do- 60 1 Turnout
Tamper Unimat

Tie Tam ping Machines – Multi Purpose Tam per

Multi Purpose Unimat 1998 60 1 T urnout or 600
tamper Compact- sleepers on Straight
M
Dynamic Track Stabilize r
Dynamic track DGS- 1990 60 1 to 2 Km
Stabliser 62N/62PLS
Ballast Handling Machines
Ballast Cleaning BCM 1970 Matissa, 40
Machine Switzerland
Ballast Cleaning RM-80 Plasser & 40 650 Cum.
Machine T heurer, Austria

KBC-600 Kersaw, USA

Ballast Cleaning RM-76 1992 Plasser & 40 550 Cum.
Machine for Points & T heurer, Austria
Crossing

Shoulder Ballast FRM-80 1992 Plasser & 40 550 Cum.

Cleaning Machine T heurer, Austria
KSC-600 1986 Kersaw, USA 40 550 Cum.
Shoulder Ballast FRM-85 2004 Plasser & 40 550 Cum.
Cleaning Machine T heurer, Austria
Ballast regulating BRM 66-4 1989 Kersaw, USA 50 1 Km
Macine
BRM C 56-3 60
Track Relaying Machines
Track Relaying PQRS 1972 Plasser & 5
st
1 hr = 20P
Machine 2000-I T heurer, Austria nd
2 hrs.= 17P
(5T ) & rd
3 hrs = 14P
201(9T )
Track Relaying TRT 1989-90 T amper 5 1 Km. in 2 Hr. 40
Train P-811S Corporation, Minutes
USA
Machine for T urn out T-28 1992 Ameca, Italy 10 Depends on site
renew al Conditions

Spe cial Purpose Machine

Mobile Flash Butt K-355 1987 Plasser & 60
Welding Plant APT T heurer, Austria

Rail Grinding SX-11 1990 Loram, USA 60

Machine
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. Type of Machine TOTAL Numbers

1 Tamp ing exp ress (09-3X) 12
2 Continuous tamping machine C SM 51
3 Work site tamp ers (WST) 68
4 UNIM AT 54
5 Multi p urpose tamp ers (MPT) 9
6 Ballast cleanin g machin e (BCM) 61
7 Shoulder ballast cleanin g mach ine (SBCM ) 29
8 Plasser quick relay ing system (PQRS) 39
9 T- 28 25
10 Track relay ing train (TRT) 8
11 Dynamic track stabliser (DTS) 62
12 Ballast regulatin g machines (BRM ) 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.

(ii) 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.

(iii) 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.

(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 PWI’s 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 Maintenance activity Small track machine required Qty

1
Need based spot 1- Off track hand held tamper with generator 1 set
tamp ing with liftin g & 2-Hydraulic/mechanical lifting jack 4 sets
linin g
3-Hydraulic track lifting cum slewing device 2 sets
2 1-Rail welding equipment 2 sets
In situ rail weldin g
2-Weld trimmer 1 set
3- Rail profile weld grinder 1 set
3
Casual renewals and 1- Rail cutting machine (Abrasive/saw type) 1 set
rep airs except p lanned 2-Rail drilling machine 1 set
renewals
3-Track lifting jack (Hydraulic/mechanical) 4 set
4-Various track tools like crow bars, beaters, As per
rake ballast, rail tongue etc. requirement
4 1-Track lifting jack (Hydraulic/mechanical) 4 sets
Over haulin g of level
crossings 2-Hydraulic track lifting cum slewing device 2 sets
3- Off track hand held tamper with generator 1 set
4-Various track tools like crow bars, beaters, As per
rake ballast, rail tongue etc. requirement
5 Rep lacement of glued 1- Rail cutting machine (Abrasive/saw type) 1 set
joints 2-Rail drilling machine 1 set
3-Rail welding equipment 2 set
4-Weld trimmer 1 set
5-Rail profile weld grinder 1 set
6
Rail cutting /drilling 1- Rail cutting machine (Abrasive/saw type) 1 No
and chamfering 2-Rail drilling machine 1 No
3- Chamfering kit 1 set
7 Permanent rep airs to 1- Rail cutting machine (Abrasive/saw type) 1 set
factures 2-Rail drilling machine 1 set
3-Rail welding equipment 2 set
4-Weld trimmer 1 set
5- Rail profile weld grinder 1 set
6-Hydraulic rail tensor 1 set
8 Creep or gap 1-Rail creep adjuster 1 set
adjustments involving 2-Gap gauge 1 No
machines
9
Distressing of 1- Rail cutting machine (Abrasive/saw type) 1 set
LWR/CWR 2-Rail drilling machine 1 set
3-Rail welding equipment 2 set
4-Weld trimmer 1 No
5- Rail profile weld grinder 1 set
 6-Hydraulic rail tensor 2 set
7-Destressing rollers & wooden mallet Complete set
10 1- Rail dolley 6 Nos
Loading/ unloadin g of
materials 2- Mono rail wheel borrow 2 Nos
11 Communication 1-walkie talkie 4 Sets
2-portables field telep hones 4 Sets
12 1-Insp ection kit 1 No
Insp ection gadgets
2-Gauge- cum- level 1 No
3-Rail thermometer 1 No
4-Vernier calip ers 1 No
5-Micrometer 1 No
13
Safety and protection 1-Warnin g sy stem 1 Set
equip ments 2-Red banner flag As per
3-Red hand signal flag p rotection
4-Green hand signals flag rules.
5-Detonators
6-Gas cutting equip ments with accessories 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 Category Name of equipment Qty

A Points and crossing 1-Weldin g generator 1 Set
reconditionin g equ ip ment 2-Arc welding equipment 1 Set
3-Hand held rail grinder 2 Sets
B For minor rep airs to 1-Sp anner of sizes 2 Sets
equip ments 2-Turfer 2 Sets
3-Files of sorts 2 Sets
4-Bench drill 2 Sets
5-Vice bench 2 Sets
6-Bench grinder 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. TYPE OF MACHIN E QUANTIT Y

No.
1. Abrasive Rail Cutter 3 p er SE (Suburban)
1 p er SE (Other than suburban)
1 p er ART
2. Abrasive Rail Cutting Wheel As required
3. Rail Cutting M achine (Saw Typ e) 2 nos. p er SE (other than Suburban)
 1 p er ART
4. Hacksaw Blade for cutting R ails As required
5. Rail Drillin g Machine 2 p er SE (Suburban)
1 p er SE (other than suburban)
1 p er ART
6. Chamferin g Kit 1 p er SE
7. Hy draulic Rail Tensor (non-infrin gin g 2 p er SE
typ e), 70 t cap acity
8. Hy draulic Rail Bend er (Jim Crow), 1 p er SE
Heavy duty
9. Hy draulic Rail Joint Straightener 1 p er Sub division
10. Rail Creep Adjuster 1 p er SE
11. Hy draulic Sleeper Sp acer 2 p er SE
12. Concrete Sleeper Breaker with Angle 1 p er ART
Grinder
13. Concrete Sleep er Drillin g M achine 1 p er Division
14. Portable DC Weldin g Generator 1 p er SE
15. Double Action Weld Trimmer for AT 1 p er Weldin g-unit
Weldin g (Power Pack Version)
16. Rail Profile Weld Grinder 1 p er Weldin g-unit
17. Heavy Duty Hydraulic Extractor for 1 p er SE
Jammed ERCs 1 p er ART
18. Toe Load M easuring Device 1 p er SE
(M echanical)
19. Electronic Toe Lo ad Measuring 1 p er SE
Device
20. Mechanical Track Jack 2 p er gan g/unit
21. Hy draulic Track Jack 4 p er gan g/unit
22. Portable track lifting & slewing dev ice 2 p er SE
(TRALIS)
23. Self Prop elled light weight Trolley 1 p er AEN
24. Powered M aterial Trolley 1 p er SE
25. Light Weight Rail (M ono) cum Road 2 p er gan g
Trolley
26. Jib Crane Attachable to BFR-BRH for As required
handlin g con crete Sleeper
27. Attachment for Rail Dolly for PRC 4 p er SE
sleep er
28. Powered Rail Haulin g Sy stem 1 p er PQRS site
29. Hand Held Off Track Tamp er 3 p er SE
30. Portable Ballast Clean er (Semi- 1 p er gan g
Mechanised)
31. Portable Shoulder B allast Comp actor 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 Name of machine Yard stick as Requirement Availabilty %

No per in Southern in Southern availability
IRST MM Rly RLy
1 Abrasive rail cutter 1 per SE 100 5 5
2 Rail drilling machine 1 per SE 100 58 58
3 Double action weld 1 per 100 12 12
trimmer welding unit
4 Rail profile weld grinder 1 per 100 25 25
welding unit
5 Hydraulic track jack 4 per gang 2000 62 3.1
6 Mechanical track jack 2 per gang 1000 82 4.1
7 Toe load measuring device 1 per SE 100 31 31
8 Portable DC weld generator 1 per SE 100 19 19
9 Hydraulic tensor 2 per SE 200 13 6.5
10 Hydraulic rail bender 1 per SE 100 4 4
11 Hydraulic sleeper spacer 2 per SE 200 1 .5
12 Rail creep adjuster 1 per SE 100 6 6
13 Portable track lifting and 2 per SE 200 0 0
slewing device
14 Portable ballast cleaner 1 per gang 500 3 1
15 Hydraulic clip extractor 1 per SE 100 4 4
16 Concrete sleeper drilling 1 per 5 2 40
device division

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) Its movement on rail is on p aper line clear, due to track circu iting and axle
counter problem.
(ii) 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.

(iii) 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
(iv) Pay load limit of p resent RCRV is only 3.5 tonnes, hence constraint in
movement of man, material & machin ery .

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 Post No Qualification Yardstick

No
1 SSE/ 1 Degree/ Dip loma in 1 p er Div for indep endent
(SMTMC) Mech/ Elect/ Automobile monitoring of small track
 machin es in the division.

2 SE/JE 1 Dip loma in M ech/ Elect/ 1 p er ADEN

(SMTMC) Automobile
3 Fitter (M ech) 1 ITI 1 p er ADEN
4 Fitter (Elect) 1 ITI 1 p er ADEN
4 Help er 2 8 th Pass 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 track-
tamp 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 (ÖBB) 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.
(ii) 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
(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.