Western Railway services delayed as sleepers get an upgrade

WR said this is part of an initiative to replace the sleepers along the entire length of track from Churchgate to Virar, and Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Delhi route

MUMBAI: Commuters on the Western Railway will find the answer to ongoing delays in suburban services in the sparkling white cement-concrete sleepers being laid along the tracks between Andheri and Borivali stations. These new sleepers, sturdier and embedded deeper than the previous ones, will enable a smoother and quicker ride. The railway said this is part of an initiative to replace the sleepers along the entire length of track from Churchgate to Virar, and eventually along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Delhi route.

WR is using the rail grinding machine to remove rail surface abnormalities and prevent premature fractures and cracks

The work, being undertaken at night to minimise delays in train services, is being executed by a new track-relaying train (TRT) which is also replacing the bed of ballast or road metal that fills the spaces between sleepers. Additionally, WR is using the rail grinding machine to remove rail surface abnormalities and prevent premature fractures and cracks.

“This work will be carried out on the fast and slow corridors, on both the Up (towards Churchgate) and Down (towards Borivali) lines, between Borivali and Andheri. A few months ago, we carried out a similar exercise on the fifth and sixth rail lines,” said a railway official.

The official said the initiative was part of an exercise to strengthen track infrastructure. “We are replacing the old concrete sleepers by installing heavier, deeper and sturdier ones. “The specialised TRT digs deep into the earth and replaces the old ballast with fresh road metal,” said the official.

The new sleepers have a depth of 230 mm while the existing ones have a depth of 160 mm. They are also 25% heavier than the existing ones. Sources said the TRT also excavates broken pieces of ballast, which was not possible with manual track maintenance. “The work done by the TRT per mega-block is equivalent to that done by 300 labourers. The WR will install 3.92 lakh concrete sleepers along 236km of track between Churchgate and Virar, sources added.

“This will enable the Rajdhani, Vande Bharat and Shatabdi trains to reach their potential and run at semi-high-speeds of 160 kmph. Once the new sleepers are laid along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad-Delhi route, passengers can expect a reduction of 30 to 45 minutes of travel time.”