HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, June 10: With a prime focus on safer train movements, the Northeast Frontier Railway has been actively working on detecting hot axle failures en route. For this purpose, Hot Box Detectors (HBD) have been strategically installed at the end of platforms at stations, where rolling in and rolling out examinations of trains are conducted. These sensor-based HBDs will detect instances of hot axles in running trains and alert railway staff to take preventive measures. Due to the continuous movement of wheels of coaches and wagons, ball bearings sometimes fail, leading to an increase in axle temperature, known as a hot axle. Various causes contribute to hot axle incidents, including overloading and faulty bearing conditions.
During the years 2020-21, 07 cases; 2021-22, 9 cases; 2022-23, 14 cases; and in 2023-24, a single case of hot axle has been detected on freight trains by sensor-based HBDs.
A total of 16 hot box detectors have been installed across some important stations on the NF Railway. These stations include Kamakhya (2), Guwahati (4), New Bongaigaon (1), Rangapara North (1), New Jalpaiguri (4), and Katihar (4).
Given that hot axle incidents pose a major safety concern for railways, NF Railway is undertaking vigorous measures, including counselling of railway staff and inter-departmental coordination on safety standards, to prevent punctuality losses in train operations while ensuring safety.
