Hyderabad, May 20: Meticulous maintenance of coaches and tracks is indispensable for a safe and comfortable journey by train.
Modern engineering, prompt and expert operational maintenance, and a dedicated and skilled workforce are the factors contributing chiefly to the fulfillment of this objective.
This became amply clear to a team of journalists which visited railway coach maintenance depot in Secunderabad at the invitation of South Central Railway officials.
The credit of keeping the bogies fit and making them run safely goes to the technically qualified and highly experienced engineers and other staff of the mechanical and electrical departments who test the trains in all respects day and night.
The media team was also given an insight into the salient features of coach maintenance and working at the pitlines.
The tour was arranged with the objective of creating an awareness in the public in general and rail users in particular about pitline working and coach maintenance.
Senior divisional mechanical engineer M.Vijay Kumar, senior divisional electrical engineer Ch.S Reddy and others explained the coach maintenance procedure which includes mandatory checks, flawless recording of voluminous data and mechanised cleaning practices.
A total number of 29 rakes, used in the operation of 17 Superfast and Express trains, are undertaken for primary maintenance at the Secunderabad Coaching Depot. Three rakes used to run three trains are accorded secondary maintenance.
A staggering number of 365 coaches undergo ‘turnround maintenance’ while 576 undergo ‘passthrough maintenance’ at this depot.
The infrastructure at the depot comprises pit lines and sick lines and intensive overhaul shed, they said.
Train examination involves a host of maintenance schedules right from the time the train is placed on a pit line until the issue of safety certificate to let the train start its run.
The pit line examination is carried out at three levels — undergear examination of the train i.e. inside the pit line; side examination under the catwalk, the condition of springs, dampers axle box, buffers and respective safety items; and above the catwalk for exterior coach washing, roof cleaning up to visible area and glass shutter and V-shutters cleaning.
For huge repairs which cannot be carried out on the pit line, coaches are marked ‘sick’ and detached from the train.
A spare fit coach is attached alternatively to ensure the train composition remains intact, they said.
–Agencies