Does IR use mechanized means for track laying and maintenance?

July 19, 2019, 12:12 PM

IR has used some track-laying equipment, but much track is still laid manually. A lot of track maintenance is also done manually, with a veritable army of gangmen that are out ‘on the line’ to inspect track and fix problems. There is, however, a big push to mechanize track maintenance — the target being complete mechanization by 2012.

Tie tamping machines are common: Unimat models (by Plasser) tamp one sleeper at a time and can pack sleepers on normal track and turnout; Duomat models tamp two sleepers at a time on normal track. CSM is another tie tamper used by IR; it has a cab that moves continuously while the tamping machine itself starts and stops over alteranate sleepers to tamp them two at a time — this reduces driver discomfort. CSM tampers are the most common ones used by IR today. [6/04] A ‘Tamping Express’ machine that tamps three sleepers at a time is being tried out.

Self-propelled ballast cleaning machines have been tried in a few places but remain rare. Ultrasonic rail testing cars, rail geometry test equipment, etc. are also used on occasion, but the main method of rail inspection remains visual inspection by gangmen.

Track laying and relaying by machines is increasingly common. Plasser brand machines are seen quite often. These include the ‘PQRS’ or Plasser Quick Relaying System which consists of self-propelled portal cranes, which travel on a wider gauge, called auxiliary track, laid temporarily, outside the track to be renewed. Their capacity for track renewal is about 400m per effective traffic block hour. The manufacturers are Plasser and Theurer, BEML, and Simplex.

‘TRT’ or Track Relaying Train machines (also sometimes Track Renewal Train), capable of continuously relaying track at a few hundred meters an hour are also seen (as of 2004 there were at least four of these, perhaps more). These are made by ‘M/S Harsco Track Tech’ (earlier ‘Fairmont Tamper’ and still earlier, called ‘Tamper Corporation’) of USA. (One machine of this type was purchased initially from Russia, but that was a one-off purchase.) The ‘T-28’ is a point and crossing renewing machine made by Ameca, Italy, used for re-laying track at turnouts and points.

BEML has recently been supplying IR with BG track-laying machines. These machines can remove old rails, and lay new BG track (including concrete sleepers), assembling the rails and sleepers into panels before laying the track.

A machine consists of two large vertical frames which are connected by a bridge. The bridge can be moved up and down between the side frames. A diesel engine and hydraulic pumps are installed on the bridge. The vertical frames rest and move on rails of an auxiliary track of 3.4m gauge. The wheel base is about 2.4m. It weighs about 12t, and can move at about 14km/h.

The machine can lift sleepers and track up to 9t. Panel lifting is accomplished by the use of four independently controlled hydraulic scissors mechanisms. Rails and sleepers can also be moved laterally through hydraulic positioners. The equipment attached to the bottom of the bridge is connected via a turntable, allowing for rotational movement of the loads being lifted. Sleepers are gripped by hydraulically operated angle grippers.

The machine uses a 6-cylinder vertical inline KOEL diesel engine (HA694) for its motive power. In addition to laying track, the machine can load and unload itself from BFR flat wagons.

For track inspection and monitoring by mechanical means, IR also now uses laser-based contactless track-recording cars for measuring rail corrugation. Portable accelerometers and optical rail profile measurement systems are in use in trials in some places with large scale use expected in the next few years.

Source – IFRCA.org

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