Guwahati, Dec 6 2024-
For the first time in India, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has pioneered an innovative system of utilising road machineries such as Hydra cranes and backhoe loaders for speedy maintenance of points and crossings, which are critical components of railway networks that allow trains to switch tracks and safety cross from one track to another.
NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer Kapinjal Kishore Sharma on Friday said that this innovation, which was successfully carried out on an experimental basis on November 29 at the Pandu machine siding located in Maligaon, Guwahati, marks a significant achievement in the zone’s efforts towards ensuring safety and timely maintenance of railway tracks.
According to the CPRO, maintenance of tracks on the Indian Railways is usually carried out through the use of track machines, which play a vital role in enhancing railway safety by ensuring the efficient and precise maintenance of tracks.
At present, 1,684 track machines are working in Indian Railways, and 301 more machines are under supply.
Sharma said that they include machines such as Ballast Cleaning Machines, Tamping Machines, Dynamic track stabilisers, Muck disposal units and several others.
Plasser India, the major supplier of track machines to the Indian Railways, has set up a new manufacturing plant in Karjan, Gujarat in the year 2019 to meet the growing requirements of the Indian and global market, the official said.
He said that in tandem with the Prime Minister’s flagship initiative of “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, Plasser India is not only increasing indigenous content in domestic production, but has also started exporting to countries like the USA, Canada and Australia.
The innovative method of using road machineries for maintenance of points and crossings promises to act as a force multiplier for the track machines.
The NFR CPRO said that with meticulous planning and a focus on overcoming logistical challenges, this approach has delivered remarkable results in enhancing ballast cushion and improving track stability.
Due to the easy availability of road machinery and their ability to be deployed at less accessible locations, this system can further augment the track machines in ensuring speedy maintenance of the large numbers of points and crossings spread across various remote and far-flung locations throughout the jurisdiction of the NFR.
He said that this pioneering effort underscores NFR’s commitment towards adopting cutting-edge methods to improve safety, efficiency and reliability in train operations and infrastructure maintenance, setting a benchmark for railway zones across the country.
The NFR, which operates in the northeastern states and in seven districts of West Bengal and five districts of northern Bihar with more than 6,400 km of tracks in its jurisdiction (Agency)
