Poor maintenance led to fractures

NEW DELHI, DEC 16: The Railways might claim that it is the flat wheel of a goods train engine which caused 100 rail fractures and 1,400 R...

NEW DELHI, DEC 16: The Railways might claim that it is the flat wheel of a goods train engine which caused 100 rail fractures and 1,400 REM joint cracks on the Delhi-Ambala line, but poor maintenance seems to be the main cause of overall degradation of the line.

8220;No doubt the flat loco wheel aggravated the condition of the tracks drastically but it also exposed the flimsy maintenance system of the Railways. All the cracks surfaced at points where rails had been welded,8221; disclosed a senior railway official.

Moreover, the Delhi-Ambala line has not been subjected to an Ultrasonic Flaw Detection Test and the need-based maintenance for over past 14 months 8211; a fact corroborated by the preliminary report of Chief Commissioner Railway Safety CCRS M Mani on the Khanna disaster.

The poor state of the Delhi-Ambala line has also exposed the inherent weakness of the rail welding process 8211; Aluminum Thermit AT welding 8211; used by the Railways. The AT welding process is convenient which takes about 30 minutes andcan be done at the site without removing the track. 8220;But the strength of such a welded track is, at best, about 50 per cent the normal track. And if a train with a flat wheel of about 50 mm passes on it, pressure on the track increases by 100 per cent. Under such circumstances, the rail is bound to crack,8221; explained an official in the Railways engineering department.

The cracks on the Delhi-Ambala and Delhi-Rohtak track were discovered after Union Minister for Railways Nitish Kumar issued directives on November 29 three days after the Khanna tragedy to conduct ultrasonic tests.

On December 3, an alarming number of cracks were detected on both the busy lines 8211; 100 rail fractures and 1,400 REM joint cracks on the Delhi-Ambala line and 70 on the Delhi-Rohtak line 8211; causing serious disruption in train services.

December 3 is also the day when the Ludhiana-bound goods train was stopped at Ambala for a loco with flat wheels. Now under suspension with an inquiry against him, the driver claims he hadinformed his seniors repeatedly about the flat wheel of the engine but was advised to carry on.

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8220;We allow a flat of about 50 mm to run but more than that can be dangerous. This goods train engine had a flat wheel of 30 cm. With the engine wheel having a radius of 100 cm, a 30 cm flat is like a square tyre. A train driver can detect a flat. A flat of more than 5 cm starts making a noise. The driver cannot be made the scapegoat. There are others who should be held responsible,8221; the official said.

Meanwhile, Railway Minister Nitish Kumar told Elders on Wednesday that his ministry has set up a Rs 50 lakh permanent academic chair at the Roorkee Engineering University to study the causes of rail/wheel interaction as part of its efforts to prevent frequent accidents.