Track Machine Manual 2017-2018 PDF

CHAPTER 6 PLANNING AND DEPLOYMENT 601 Planning (1) Working and deployment of all track machines in a Zonal Railway shall be under overall control of CE/TM. (2) By 5th Feb every year (after the Budget), Sr. DEN/Co-ordination of divisions will se...

CHAPTER 6 PLANNING AND DEPLOYMENT 601 Planning (1) Working and deployment of all track machines in a Zonal Railway shall be under overall control of CE/TM. (2) By 5th Feb every year (after the Budget), Sr. DEN/Co-ordination of divisions will send to CE/TM, their requirement plan for the track machines, for a period of 18 months starting from 1st April of coming year, based on maintenance needs, track renewal needs, etc., keeping in view the various aspects detailed below. Likewise, the construction organizations, PSUs and other agencies will also project their requirement for the coming financial year. Draft deployment program for CTR/TSR shall be drawn out by the office of CE/TM once the targets are prepared and discussed with Railway Board and this shall be sent to the divisions and other units. (3) The annual programme shall be prepared for the period of 18 months – firm programme for 12 months commencing from 1st Apr of the first year and tentative program for 6 months of second year starting from 1st April of second year i.e. programme drawn in Feb’17 will be up to 30th Sep’18 – firm programme for 12 month period from 1st Apr’17 to 31st Mar’18 and tentative for 6 months period from 1st Apr’18 to 30th Sep’18. This will help the divisions to finalize the tenders for support activities in time. (4) In drawing the programme, the following aspects shall be taken into consideration (a) Base depot locations for TLE/TRT etc. (b) Loco requirements, and loco power availability. (c) Block requirements, and block availability. (d) Ballast needs and supply prospects. (e) Speed restrictions. (f) Working season. (g) Output of individual machines. (h) Effective availability of machines, taking into account slots for POH/IOH, major repairs and shifting, etc. (i) Priorities/targets for completion of projects/works. (j) Co-ordination with and requirement of S&T and TRD branches. (k) Any other factor having a bearing on machine utilization. (5) Targets – Annual targets for each type of machine are fixed by Railway Board in consultation with zonal railways. The factors which are to be taken in deciding the targets is: (a) Track maintenance works due at the beginning of the year. 184  (b) Track renewal targets. (c) Availability of machines on the railway taking into consideration the planned maintenance operations like POH and IOH. (d) Availability of traffic blocks including corridor blocks. (e) Progress per machine per month for past 3 years on the railway. (f) Progress per machine per month for past 3 years on Indian Railway. (g) Age of the machine. (6) Requirement of the divisions, construction organizations, PSUs and other agencies etc. shall be examined by CE/TM in consultation with the CTE at the Zonal HQ and draft deployment program for 18 months – firm program for 12 months in addition to tentative program for 6 months shall be issued by 25thFeb every year. The division should study and inform of any changes and/or correction to draft deployment plan within 15 days. CE/TM will issue the final deployment programme, after examining the suggestions by the divisions. (7) The Divisions and Construction units on receipt of the deployment plan shall initiate all preliminary works such as development of base depots, finalization of contracts, arranging blocks, locomotive, drawing MOUs, collection of matching materials, ballast collection, co-ordination with other branches, machine staff accommodation, procurement of consumables like diesel oil etc. so that no time is wasted once the machines reach the site. (8) The machines on arrival in the section/divisions/construction units shall be deployed as per the approved deployment program, their progress closely monitored, works completed in time and machines handed over to the next work site as per the program. Any deviation from the approved program, which should be an exception, shall be got approved by CTE or CE/TM in advance. Copy of deployment program at HQ and divisions shall be corrected accordingly. (9) Sr.DEN/Co shall arrange for expeditious movement of machines in their respective divisions as per the approved program. Sr.DEN/DEN of the section shall ensure timely completion of all preparatory works in the section where the machine is due to arrive. (10) Whenever machines of other Divisions/Railway are passing through a division, Sr.DEN/Co of that division shall arrange for expeditious movement of machines in his division. 602 Pre-requisites for Deployment of Track Machines on Construction Projects/Other Agencies (1) Requisite track geometry standards shall be ensured before deployment of track machines on construction projects: - (a) Track laying standards in respect of gauge, joints, expansion gaps and spacing of sleepers for the new track as specified in Para 316 of IRPWM should be followed. 185  (b) A minimum clean ballast cushion of 250 mm on main line and 150 mm for yard line along with adequate ballast on shoulders and cribs should be ensured before deploying the tamping machines. (c) Proper recording of levels and versines should be done by a trained personnel and lift & slews values should also be calculated in advance for lining/ levelling for design mode of tamping. (d) The track geometry prior to deployment of track machines for new works of new line, doubling, gauge conversion etc. should be as under: - Peak value of Unevenness 15 mm on 3.6 m Chord Peak value of Twist 15 mm on 3.6 m Chord Peak value of Alignment 15 mm on 7.2 m Chord (e) The above track geometry standards are not safety/slow down tolerances but are only a prerequisite for deployment of track tamping machines for better machine productivity and their optimum utilization. (f) For achieving the track geometry parameters as above, suitable small track machines such as off-track tampers etc. may be used. Recording of achieved track parameters should be done using motorized trolleys. (2) The track should be certified fit for a speed of 30 kmph before deploying tamping machine. (3) On receipt of request from Dy. CE/(C), Sr.DEN will direct joint inspection of track to be done by AEN(C) and AEN/XEN/TM. (4) Based on the joint inspection, Dy. CE (C) shall certify the track geometry as mentioned above, before deploying the track machines, after attending to deficiencies, if any. Sectional Sr.DEN/DEN shall confirm suitability of track for deployment of machine(s) by field verification or otherwise before machine is deployed. (5) Two rounds of tamping along with consolidation by DTS should be carried out at construction projects prior to opening of section. (6) After opening of section for traffic, another round of tamping along with consolidation by DTS may be done on need basis. 603 Inter- Railways Deployment (1) All Inter-Railway transfer of machines will be done with the approval of Railway Board only. (2) When machines are deployed to work in other Railways for short duration (up to a period of 2-3 months), the "Owning Railway" shall send the machine with necessary staff required for working. The zone receiving the machine shall associate its staff to pilot the machine for movement in its jurisdiction. Oils and consumables and spares required for operation shall be supplied by the user Railway. Major repairs shall be 186  the responsibility of owning railway. It is thus implied that the machines to be deployed on other railways should be in good condition, not needing any major repairs. User railway shall also be responsible for optimum utilization of machines and feeding the progress in TMS and reporting of progress. In case of deployment for longer durations, the user railway shall take over the machine and arrange required staff for operation & maintenance. 604 Line Blocks, Stipulated Corridors and Monitoring (1) Stipulated block hours (SBH) are blocks machine has to avail every month for desired utilization. SBH for all machines shall be 100 hours per month except for TRT, TLE and PCCM. SBH for TRT and TLE will be 64 hours and that for PCCM is 36 hours per month. Non-availability of machines on account of planned maintenance operations of POH and IOH shall be considered in arriving at the figures of SBH. (2) Demanded block hours (DBH) are minimum specified block hours to be demanded daily so as to achieve a minimum of SBH on an average in the year. As a general rule DBH shall be as follows: All track machines except PCCM 4 x No. of days block demanded* PCCM 3 x No. of days block demanded* *No. of days block demanded shall be actual No. of days block is demanded excluding the days lost due to rest, holiday, machine under repair /maintenance /overhauling, shifting, no planning etc. Actual Block hours (ABH) is the actual blocks granted in hours. DBH/SBH expressed in % gives the availability of track machine. ABH/DBH expressed in % gives the machine utilization. 605 Types of Blocks - As stipulated by the Railway Board, on-track machines should work under traffic blocks as per the following options depending upon the track maintenance requirement and traffic patterns: (1) Regular Traffic Blocks (a) On Single Line Section - Either one block of at least 4 hours or 2 blocks of 2- 1/2 hours or in exceptional cases minimum two hours wherever 2-1/2 hours are not possible. (b) On Double Line Section (i) One spell of 4 hours on "Up" or ‘’Dn" line daily. (ii) Two 2-1/2 hours split blocks on "Up" or "Dn" line on alternate days. (5 hours daily on one of the lines) (2) Blocks on Construction Projects and Multiple Lines – On construction projects and multiple lines, additional working hours/blocks should be planned. (3) Special Blocks – In addition to regular traffic blocks, special blocks as envisaged in Engineering and Operating JPOs issued by Railway Board from time to time should 187  be considered. (a) Mega Block Running into Several Days/Weeks - Major maintenance/ rehabilitation of assets in identified block section in a double line traffic sections shall be carried out for pre-decided long block running into several days/weeks by blocking of one line and conversion of double line into single line with suitable modifications in signalling system to complete the entire work. This shall result into expeditious completion with better quality of work. Detailed scheme for each section to be undertaken for the temporary conversion based on requirement of work and local conditions shall be prepared by Zonal Railways as laid down in joint circular issued by Railway Board. (b) Mega Block of 6 Hours Duration or More (i) On single line/double line section – Mega blocks of minimum duration of 6 hours up to twice a week depending upon requirement of work shall be made available. Cancellation of few passenger trains may be resorted to, if required. (ii) On multiple line section – On multiple line sections having more than two lines, pre-planned assured mega block of 6 hours shall be made available, particularly in context of incidences of track man being run over while moving to another track or otherwise during performance of duties. 606 Minimum Duration of Blocks - Minimum duration of blocks for effective working, ineffective time and ideal stipulated output per effective hour shall be as follows: (1) Track machines are deployed for variety of track works and their proper utilization has to be ensured by making available minimum duration of blocks for smooth, safe and effective working. Minimum duration of block is fixed based on setting up/winding up time, ineffective time and progress per effective hour. Minimum block duration etc. for different types of machines is given in table below: M/c Type Minimum Block (hr.) Ineffective time (hr.) Output / eff. Hr. (min) (min) DUO 2.50 (150 min) 0.50 (30 min) 800 m CSM 2.50 (150 min) 0.50 (30 min) 1200 m TEX 2.50 (150 min) 0.50 (30 min) 1600 m UNIMAT 2.50* (150 min) 0.50 (30 min) 1 turnout BCM(Plain) 3.00 (180 min) 1.00 (60 min) 200 m BCM (P&C) 4.50 (270 min) 3.00 (180 min) # One turnout =750 m track SBCM 2:30 (150 min) 0.50 (30 min) 400 m TLE 3.00 (180 min) 0.75 (45 min) 200 m TRT 4.00 (240 min) 1.25 (75 min) 400 m RGM 2.00 (120 min) 0.75 (45 min) 10 – 12** km 188  *Time for turnout is for main line & turnout side and connection and disconnection time required for S&T **Depending on the length on curves in the section # For deep screening of P&C, ineffective time includes movement, preparatory works and S&T works Output may vary depending upon the age of the machine and track features For output less than 90% of the normal output, the reason should be analyzed and corrective action taken, if any MPT is used for spot attention of both plain track and Points and Crossing, hence requirement will vary depending on work to be performed. (2) Group working can be adopted to reduce total block requirement if assured and longer duration blocks are granted. (a) BCMs can be deployed in a group; in blocks of 4 hours and more as working time of the second machine reduces. This time loss for trailing machine is around 30 min. In addition, output is also compromised on regular basis due to conservative estimate of patches left between the two machine work locations. Thus, for group working of BCMs the ineffective time will have to be increased by 30 min for second machine and so on for third machine. (b) Tamping machines can also be deployed in groups. More than one plain track tamper can also be combined with UNIMAT. 607 Measures for Ensuring Block - Principal Chief Engineer (PCE) and Chief Operating Manager (COM) of the railway shall ensure that the identified corridor blocks as above are incorporated in the working timetables and their availability shall be ensured. Following are the measures for ensuring availability of blocks: (a) Inclusion of engineering maintenance corridor blocks in the Working Time Tables and updating it every year duly providing alternate corridors for those affected by the newly introduced trains. (b) Resorting to TSL (Temporary Single Line) working, rescheduling/regulation /cancellation of trains to ensure adequate blocks for track machines. (c) Identifying double line sections for introduction of system of Single Line signalled working for days/weeks. (d) Periodic Monitoring – Daily monitoring of blocks and performance at DRM’s level in divisions and CTE at HQ and weekly review at PCE, COM and GM's level at headquarters is essential to monitor the utilization of track machine and blocks granted. 608 Through Tamping and Spot Attention (1) Types of Tamping – Tamping has been categorised in two types: - (a) Through Tamping – This is maintenance tamping as per pre decided programme drawn in beginning of year and covers long continuous stretches 189  of the track from one end of the block section to the other. Frequency of through tamping depends on the tamping cycle fixed by the railway based on factors as enumerated below with the approval of CTE. (b) Spot Attention – Tamping of track of shorter stretches, say 200 m or longer, is sometimes necessitated due to various reasons such as bad running location, work spot etc. The annual programme shall have provision of Spot attention to be done with the approval of Sr.DEN/Co. The quantum of spot attention in terms of approximate length in kms, should be incorporated in the deployment programme issued by CE/TM. (2) Tamping Frequency - The requirement and periodicity of through tamping depends on many factors, as mentioned below: (i) Traffic density (GMT) on the route, Axle Loads and maximum permissible Speed of trains. (ii) Track geometry i.e. gradients & curvature. (iii) Track structures and condition of track components. (iv) Depth of ballast cushion, availability of clean cushion below sleeper and on shoulders, and drainage characteristics. (v) Type of formation i.e. embankment or cutting, type of soil, and condition and stability of the formation. (vi) Climate condition such as rainfall, snowfall etc. (vii) Local conditions, such as adjoining built-up area, tress passing, drainage problems etc. (viii) Mode of tamping on previous occasion i.e. smoothening mode or design mode. Tamping frequency has to be fixed with the purpose to achieve track with required geometrical parameters and sound condition of packing for the end result of having good riding comfort (quality). Considering the wide variations in aforesaid factors on different sections, it is not feasible to fix frequency of tamping universally and each Zonal Railway would fix the frequency with the approval of CTE. As a general guideline, the frequency of tamping would be 1 year and above. Tamping of track having bad formation and other factors necessitating more frequent tamping should be called spot attention. TMS module should have the provision for feeding such spot attentions. Frequency of tamping may be reviewed, as and when one or more of the above factors get modified. 190