Challenges & Strategies involved in the Semi mechanised

construction Projects
(Ramesh Pinjani, CE/CN/SWR)

Synopsis:

The Indian Railway construction projects are presently semimechanized & activities like earth work, ballast supply are mechanized. Bridge work,
blanketing & track linking are partially mechanised & there is scope for
mechanization in the activities like blanketing, bridge work & track linking.
The paper deals with defining present problems & strategies to bring
perfection & optimisation of semi mechanised system on Indian Railways by
controlling delays in commissioning due to poor quality, improper planning & poor
progress in construction projects.

Introduction
The railway construction project consist of execution of works for laying
formation i.e. earth work including blanketing, construction of minor & major bridges,
ballast supply and track linking including machine tamping. The present problems &
solutions to bring optimised mechanisation of these activities is discussed (activity wise)
here under:-

I.

Track Linking :

Problem definition: The present system of working has mainly 2 types of concerns
(i) Quality concerns (ii) Progress concerns.
For quality concerns, the main issues involved are (i)
(ii)
(iii)

Inadequate ballast cushion/section at the time of commissioning

Poor track geometry
Alignment specially on the curves

The progress concerns are as under:(i)

(ii)

Poor availability of labour

Delays involved due to mobile FBW.

The main items which are related to these concerns are discussed here
under:1)
(i)
(ii)

(iii)
(iv)

Ballast: There are number of reasons leading to shortage of ballast, the

important reasons are Improper formation top, not matching with designed L- section & cross
slope.
Improper/ Non uniform ballast dumping in track resulting excess /
shortage in ballast section, (tendency to dump excess near available
ballast stacks).
Improper ballast bed preparation, leading to inadequate/excess ballast
cushion on completion of work.
Loss of ballast in the bottom of stack due to mixing with underneath soil,
as complete removal of ballast leads some times mixing of dust in the
ballast.

(v)

Mistakes in ballast measurement like improper stacking ground/ top

concave surface lading to excess ballast measurement.

It is therefore suggested that

a)

Initial laying of ballast bed is made with minimum thickness of 225 mm to

ensure & achieve the desired cushion of 250-300 mm at the time of
commissioning the project, (as increasing cushion at later stage is difficult
compare to making good ballast in crib & shoulder).

b)

Top dressing of formation by linking contractor to get design L- section &

cross slope

c)

To avoid dilution/ confusion in responsibility between ballast contractor &

linking contractor, let ballast supply be a part of scope of linking contract.

2) Track geometry: To achieve desired track geometry without wasting time in

re doing the things manually, the following needs to be implemented:
a)

Laying of sleepers and rails on smooth ballast bed rolled with vibromax
Roller on proper aligned ballast bed since the surface and alignment of
track is reflection of smoothness and alignment of ballast bed.

b)

Proper fixing of centre line on the curves using theodilite /AutoCAD and
slewing of skeleton track to the proper track geometry (design versines)
using available software on realignment of curves.

c)

Tamping of track in design leveling & lining mode using top track
surfacing software for leveling, RECUR/suitable software for alignment &
excel sheets for working out versines factor for 3 point lining method.
The excel sheet for calculation of versines factor for 3 point lining method
is enclosed as annexure-1. This will substantially reduce present practice
of manual curve realigning before tamping

3) Welding: Presently FBW with mobile plant is done only after linking Skelton
track, The further activities such as complete fastening of rail with sleeper &
ballast dumping in track is done after welding. This manner/ order of carrying
activities is causing delays, as on number of targetted projects the formation &
Skelton track gets ready during same time period resulting flush butt welding
becoming the most critical activity of the project.
The proper maintenance of mobile plants is another important issue to get good
progress; since the present average progress is 40 joints per day with av monthly
progress of 900-1000 joints. To control delays on account of welding following
strategy is suggested:
a)
b)
c)

Welding of rails on cess with mobile FBW in advance, before linking of

track.
Achieving good progress by proper upkeep of mobile plants.
Execution of AT welding through track linking agencies using welding
portion from RDSO approved firms and RDSO approved welders.

4) Progress: To improve progress with existing semi mechanised system,

following is suggested

II.

a)

Assigning the powers to DyCEs / CEs for bringing petty agencies for
supplying track labour by off loading existing contracts in the event of
slow progress, to achieve minimum stipulated progress.

b)

Optimizing & encouraging extensive use of road cranes for handling PSC
sleepers, single rails/3-rail panels, transportation and training out of
ballast in the track using rail borne road vehicles, ballast profiling with
JCB, some of these are already being used extensively, these requires to
be perfected & adopted uniformly all over the railways, as presently every
project/ agency is using mechanisation as per his will & motivation.

Construction of Minor & Major bridges.

Problem definition (Minor bridges): Slow progress, lack of supervision due to
remote sites resulting poor quality, poor workmanship due to unskilled artisans,
poor mechanization in concrete mixing & placing are main concerns.
The following strategy is suggested:
a)

Extensive use of pre-cast RCC boxes single span/ multiple spans of

standard span/openings with suitable barrel length/ heights & placing on
the bridge site using suitable cranes as per the requirement of site
conditions. (Necessary adjustment of height can be made at the founding
level).

b)

Maximising use of RCC pipes for 0.6 to 1.2m opening for very small
culverts, wherever adequate cushion is available.

Problem definition (Major Bridges): Slow progress & requirement of lot of

speed restrictions in doubling, & average quality of work are the main concerns
The following strategy is suggested
Foundation Extensive use of pile foundation will bring speedy construction and
eliminate requirement of speed restrictions in the doubling projects.
Sub-structure: Extensive use of RMC (wherever feasible) can bring better quality
and speedy construction. The use of RMC needs further encouragement by
drafting suitable tender conditions.
Super-structure: Extensive use of steel girders of 12.2, 18.3 with steel deck to
have parallel execution of super structure in the Rly Engg workshops &
launching with suitable cranes will bring mechanization & speedy execution of
bridge works.
The Engineering Workshops have substantial capacity to meet the above
challenges; fabrication by private parties can be encouraged wherever
necessary.

III.

Formation including blanketing work

i)

The mechanization has already taken place in earth work; however the area
left having concern is the compaction at the edge of formation and slopes.
The solution lies in compaction of edge of formation, by suitable light weight
rollers of 2 tonne / 5 tonne capacity, proper turfing of slopes, execution of
proper slopes and berms in the earth work.

ii) The another concern is ensuring advance base soil investigation and timely
remedial action for removal of black cotton soil/undesirable base soil
wherever encountered
iii) The quality & poor progress of blanketing work is another important issue, the
solution lies in
a) Stipulating specifications of manual blanketing based on sieve-wise retention
of ingredient soils; this shall help in achieving quality & to some extent
eliminate last stage disputes on quality,
b) Concept of blanking like RCC material in terms of mix design, mixing using
suitable equipments and compaction with vibromax Rollers needs to be
introduced.
Contractual issues: The
modifications such as

contract

provisions

needs

certain

changes/

(i) Powers to Take over certain activities / partial offloading from the existing
contract (which are progressing slow) and bringing in new agency/petty
contracts on single tender basis/SLT at the level of CE/CAO, Presently PG
based contracts does not permit partial offloading of activities, which was
possible (partial termination) in earlier risk & cost basis contracts
(ii) Uniform Introduction of better & strict requirements of tools, equipments for
execution of various types of activities in the contracts, with a purpose to
encourage more mechanisation, further encouraging the use of advances
against equipments and machinery to achieve the same.
(iii) Introduction of additional bank guarantee towards the poorly quoted rates.
A committee can be formed to look into above aspects.
Conclusion: Indian Railways being life line of our country (having such large
resource of manpower) needs to optimise present semi mechanised system by bringing
strategic changes in current practices, to control delays & poor quality so as to make it a
perfect semi mechanised construction system. Few important suggestions/ strategies, as
discussed above are reiterated & listed here under:

Ballast supply be a part of scope of linking contract so as to fix the linking

agency in case of ballast deficiencies.

Concept of blanking like RCC material in terms of mix design, mixing using
suitable equipments and compaction with vibromax Rollers.

 Advance welding of rails on cess with mobile FBW, before linking of track +
AT welding through track linking agencies using welding portion from RDSO
approved firms and RDSO approved welders.
Tamping of track in design leveling & lining mode using top track surfacing
software for leveling, RECUR/suitable software for alignment & excel sheets
for working out versines factor for 3 point lining method, to reduce need of
track geometry corrections manually .

Extensive use of pre-cast RCC boxes single span/ multiple spans.

Assigning the powers to DyCEs / CEs for bringing / fixing petty agencies for
supplying track labour/skilled artisans by off loading existing contracts in the
event of slow progress, to achieve minimum stipulated progress

A committee to formulate contract conditions to deal with poor progress &

poorly quoted rates and to promote optimised mechanisation in the track
laying & other activities.

To improve availability of skilled work force (conversant with railway track

construction work) in our country, I.R should sponser spl ITI courses of 6
months/ 12 months duration on subjects such as - i) RCC i.e. concrete
mixing, placing, compaction, shuttering, reinforcement fixing etc.
ii) Rail welding & USFD iii) Track laying iv) Bridge const including piling
work,
v) Mech/ Elect maintenance of on track machines
vi) Steel Girder
fabrication & Girder launching.

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