HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, April 9: In a bid to maintain railway tracks in proper condition and provide safe transportation and comfortable journeys to rail passengers and stake holders, several track renewal works were undertaken by the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) during the fiscal year of 2023-24, as a part of the ongoing safety action plan and works.
These track renewal works have surpassed the set annual targets during the last fiscal year, projecting the remarkable works done by the zone.
During the financial year 2023-24, 257.98 TKM of through rail renewal, 210.71 TKM of through sleeper renewal and 264.16 CTR units of complete track renewal works have been completed. NFR has also achieved 7.27 lakh cubic meter of progress in ballasting works against a target of 5 lakh cubic meter, which is marked as the highest ever progress surpassing last year’s progress of 6.34 lakh cubic meter. In addition, 134 thick web switches have been installed as compared to 35 during the progress of 2022-23.
As a part of the road safety works, for hassle free movement of road and rail users, 19 manned level crossings have been eliminated as well as 20 road over bridges (ROB) and 48 road under bridges (RUB) were commissioned during the fiscal year of 2023-24 within NFR.
Moreover, up to March 2024, maximum speed limits on 118.20 Km loop lines were raised to 30 Kmph and sectional speed of 803.5 Km was raised to 110 Kmph. The sectional speed marked a progress by 42 per cent. Also, nine additional waterways have been constructed to mitigate the problem of flooding during the monsoon. Modern monitoring techniques like structural health monitoring, 3D scanning of river bed, under water inspection by remote operated robotic vehicle, scour monitoring and water levelmonitoring are also introduced for monitoring railway bridges.
Maintenance of tracks at regular intervals have resulted in smooth operations of trains and providing better travelling experience for passengers. The increased emphasis given on safety measures for railway track by the engineering department of NFR has led to safer running of trains with increased speed.
