RAILWAY SURVEY

SFCP
 Road alignment, the route of a road, defined as a
series of horizontal tangents and curves, as
defined by planners and surveyors
 Railway alignment, three-dimensional geometry
of track layouts
STAGES IN SURVEYING FOR NEW
RAILWAY LINE
 Validation of New railway line construction
 Marking of tentative alignments

 Reconnaissance survey

 Selection of Good alignments

 Preliminary survey of alignment

 Final alignment survey

 Final survey report

SUITABILITY OF NEW RAILWAY LINE
CONSTRUCTION
 The total number of people living in the area
across which a railway line is proposed are taken
into record.
 The population habits and living standards,
economic conditions are observed.
 To record the number of bridges, culverts,
tunnels etc. a topographical map of that area
should be studied.
 To study the alignment and gradients, contour
map of that area should be studied.
CONT.
 To connect all the industries by railway line,
industrial map of that area should be studied.
 New railway line laid should not affect the
valuable land in agriculture so, agricultural map
should also be studied.
 Presence of agricultural, natural, industrial
resources should be recorded.
 Presence of religious places, business centers,
markets etc. should be noted.
 An estimate should be made on amount of
revenue that may accumulate from passengers,
goods, etc.
MARKING OF TENTATIVE ALIGNMENTS
 The alignment marked should be as short as
possible.
 The alignment should pass through less valuable
lands and it should not pass through high value
lands like through center of villages or cities,
valuable structures etc.
 The alignment should be as straight as possible
and number of curves should be minimized.
CONT.
 The alignment should be marked on ridge lines to
eliminate the earth filling cost. So, if there is any
valley or depressions then it is better to avoid
them. If it is necessary to mark across them, then
proper attention is taken on this area in
reconnaissance survey.
 The alignment should not pass through religious
places, temples, churches, mosques, burial
ground etc.
 The alignment should cross the river
perpendicularly.
RECONNAISSANCE SURVEY
 Using prismatic compass find out the magnetic
bearings of lines of alignments. And find the
distances by stepping. Both measurements
should be recorded in the field book.
 The surrounding area of alignment about 100
meter radius is studied thoroughly and locate the
positions of different objects.
 Presence of water table level along the alignment
is determined using boring.
 Soil survey should be done along the alignment.

 Note down the number of bridges, culverts etc.

and their details along the alignment.
CONT.
 Note down the number of crossing points like
roads, rivers, etc. along the alignment.
 Note down the number of curves present along
the alignment.
 Determine the slope of ground along alignment
using abney level.
 Construction material availability and its
transportation way should be observed.
 Availability of labor and places for them to live,
needs etc. should be observed.
CONT.
 If Depressions and high summits are unavoidable
then, note down the details of those.
 Note down the past recorded values of rainfall,
discharge by the rivers etc. by considering past 10
year period.
 If the alignment is passed through a private property
or land or structure, then record its details along with
owner details. Then the owner will receive
compensation from the government.
 An index map is prepared for all the alignments with
details like no. of curves, bridges, approximate
longitudinal section etc. which will help to select the
good alignment in the next stage.
SELECTION OF GOOD ALIGNMENTS
 A good alignment is always short and economical.
 A good alignment can generate considerable
amount of revenue.
 A good alignment consists minimum number of
bridges or culverts in its way.
 Earth filling or earth excavation is as minimum
as possible along good alignment.
 Alignments consisting vertical curves should be
eliminated.
CONT.
 Construction material and labor availability is as
near as possible.
 A good alignment should connect all the
important and rush areas in that region.
 Location of station yards should be easily
reachable for Passengers.
 Cost of construction and expected revenue should
be estimated along the good alignment.
PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF ALIGNMENT
 A pillar is constructed at the starting point of
alignment and this point is connected to nearby
GTS benchmark using fly leveling.
 Longitudinal leveling with an interval of 20 or 40
meter is carried out along the alignment.
 Cross leveling with an interval of 100 meter is
carried out.
 Magnetic bearing of each line of traverse is noted
in level book.
 A route survey map is prepared which give the
details of 100 m land on both sides of alignment.
This can be done by plane table surveying or
prismatic compass surveying.
CONT.
 At every 2km or with regular interval permanent bench
marks are established.
 Bearing capacity of soil and water table level is recorded.
 A map is prepared for the marked station yards using
plane table surveying.
 At river crossings, the details of river like its cross section,
width, water level, HFL, scour depth etc. are noted for a
distance up to 1000 meters on the both sides crossing with
an interval of 100 m.
 The river bed is bored to find out the depth of foundation
required.
 With all the recorded readings, a drawing is prepared for
the whole alignment.
 For the drawings, an approximate estimate sheet is
prepared for each alignment. Which includes earth works,
compensations, cost of culverts, bridge structures etc.
FINAL SURVEY ALIGNMENT
 Masonry pillars are constructed along the center
line of alignment with an interval of 1000m. The
pillar position can define the width required for
railway track. In between these pegs are
provided with an interval of 30m.
 Station yards are marked at required points.
 Level crossings, culverts etc. are marked.
 Bridge provision places are marked with these
pillars.
 Intersection points and tangent points of curve
are marked.
 Compensation of properties is estimated for the
final time and marked those places.
FINAL SURVEY REPORT
 Project introduction
 Necessity of project

 Justification of final alignment

 Details of final alignment like its length, area,

number of bridges, culverts, crossings etc.
 Estimation sheet

 Specification details

 Revenue expected

 Recommendation of project
CONT.
 Map of the area through which alignment will
pass
 Route survey map

 Longitudinal section of alignment

 Cross section of alignment

 Map of station yards

 Drawings of culverts, bridges, tunnels etc. to be

constructed along the alignment.
 Drawings of station buildings, yards etc.