Why are there so many express and long-distance trains to or from obscure locations like Manduadih, Habibganj, etc.?

19-07-2019

Often, the terminus for long-distance trains into a city or town is not the railway station that is the "main" station for that town, but rather some outlying or suburban station that can better handle the long-distance traffic. The names of the trains, unfortunately, often reflect these actual termini rather than the "real" destination to which service is being provided. Similarly, sometimes a nearby station is used for services to an intermediate city as well, instead of a station at the city. For e.g. New Delhi services may terminate at Hazrat Nizamuddin or Sarai Rohilla. Mumbai services may terminate at Dadar, Kurla, or Bandra. Bhopal services may terminate at

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What dimensions of sleepers does IR use?
July 18, 2019

Wooden BG sleepers dimensions are usually 2.75m x 0.25m x 0.13m. MG wooden sleepers are 1.8m x 0.2m x 0.115m. NG sleepers are usually of the same thickness as MG sleepers, and are often made by cutting MG sleepers (sometimes discarded ones) to size and adding a new seat for the track. Most sleepers on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway are wooden,

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What does the notation ‘N+4’ or ‘M+3’, etc., mean in describing sleeper densities?
July 18, 2019

This notation is an old one. The 'N' or 'M' in this stands for the length of a rail in yards. The additional number specified represents the excess of the number of sleepers over the number of yards for a rail. E.g., 'N+3' for 11-yard (33') rails indicates 14 sleepers (11 + 3) for each rail. This was a convenient formulation, especially when rails

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What sleeper spacings does IR use?
July 18, 2019

Broad Gauge (See table below.) Most BG mainline sections now have about 1660 sleepers per km (about 60cm spacing); the earlier standard used to be 1538 sleepers per km (about 65cm spacing). BG branch lines may have 1540 sleepers per km (about 65cm spacing) or 1340 sleepers per km (about 75cm spacing); the older standard was 1307 sleepers per km

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What rail fasteners does IR use?
July 18, 2019

IR uses various kinds of Pandrol design fasteners, ERC Mark III (850-1100kg toe load), and ERC Mark V (1200-1500kg toe load) (the latter developed by RDSO). Pandrol 'J' clips, often yellow in colour, which have a lower profile and lower toe load), are used where they need to be removed and reinserted easily and where ordinary clips might interfere

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What are the usual neutral temperatures for continuously welded rail? What equipment does IR use for track destressing?
July 18, 2019

IR divides the country into five zones based on the normal temperature variation expected in each region. The maximum rail temperature difference is about 70C (ranging from a minimum of -5C to a maximum of 60C or so -- the rail temperature can be several degrees higher than the ambient temperature. The neutral temperature or stress-free

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What kinds of sleepers are used by IR?
July 18, 2019

Cast iron sleepers ('CST-9') are widely used. They are not very suitable for high-speed traffic and so are not usually seen on the mainline BG sections. The earlier 'pot sleepers' were especially prone to problems; newer cast iron sleepers (with ends that have two pockets) are much more laterally stable. Steel trough sleepers ('ST') are very

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