A

Micro Project Report

On
Study Of Maintenance Of Railway Track
Under Subject :- Railway And Bridge Engineering
Semester: 4th

Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education, Mumbai

Department of Civil Engineering

Matoshri Aasarabai Polytechnic, Eklahare, Nashik
Academic Year: 2023-24

1
 Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education,
Mumbai
Matoshri Aasarabai Polytechnic, Eklahare, Nashik

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that following students of FOURTH SEMESTER Diploma
Engineering Program in “CIVIL ENGINEERING” have successfully
completed the Micro Project "Study And Maintenance Of Raiway Track .”
under my supervision, Mr. Swapnil Hole in the partial fulfilment of Course "
Railway And Bridge Engineering " (22403) for Academic Year 2023-2024 as per
prescribed in the MSBTE “I Scheme” curriculum.

Roll No Enrollment No. Exam Seat Name of Students

Number

10 2211700040 473288 Jadhav Omkar Mahendra

19 2211700058 473297 Mhaske Sarthak Bajirao
21 2211700062 473299 Pawar Shubham Rajendra

Date: Place:Nashik

Subject Teacher Head Of Department. Principal of college

(Mr.Swapnil Hole) (Mrs.S.H.Patil) (Dr.S.J.Bagul)

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 MATOSHRI AASARABAI POLYTECHNIC, EKLAHARE, NASHIK
Department of Civil Engineering
Academic Year-2023-24

Index of Micro Project Report

Programme :- CE4I Semester :- 4th

Course :- Railway And Bridge Engineering Course Code :- 22403

Title of Micro Project :- Study And Maintenance Of Railway Track

Sr. No. Details Page

No.

1 Rubrics 4

2 Logbook 6

3 Project Work (Introduction) 12

4 Project Work (Main Details) 12-23

5 Project Work (Conclusion) 24

6 Resources/ References 25

Signature of Student Signature of Faculty

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 ANNEXURE 1

Rubric for Evaluation of Micro Project of

Railway And Bridge Engineering(22403)

Title of Micro Project : - Study Of Maintenance Of Railway Track

Group Members :- 3

Sr. Roll Enrollment Seat No. Name of Candidates

No No. No
1 10 2211700040 473288 Jadhav Omkar Mahendra

2 19 2211700058 473297 Mhaske Sarthak Bajirao

3 21 2211700062 473299 Pawar Shubham Rajendra

4
Sr Criteria Marks Indicators for different level of Performance (Evaluation Scale 1 to 6)
N Obtained
o (Out of 6)
Poor (1-2) Average(3-4) Good(5-6)

1 Relevance Related to very Related to at least Adressed at lease one CO

to the few LOs one CO
course

2 Content of Not relevant Relevant and Relevant , sufficient for

project and sufficient for topic topic and well organized
sufficient

3 Language Grammaticall Grammatically Grammatically appropriate and

of y appropriate but effective
Project inappropriate ineffective

4 Completion Completed Completed within Completed and submitted the

of project and due date but took complete project
submitted after slightly more time within specified due date.
due date. to submit
complete
project.

5 Report Prepared an Prepared the Prepared appropriate

Preparation improper report report with format of the report with
with satisfactory sufficient content details
unsatisfactory content
content

6 Presentatio Not included key Included key Presented with the help of
n points, missed points but lacks power point, Highlighted key
details and considerable points, accurate and
considerable information considerable information
information

7 Resources/ Not referred Referred at-least 3 Referred at –least 5

References more than two relevant sources, at relevant sources, 3 most latest
sources, least 2 latest
very old reference

Total:

Average
(Out of 6)

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 MATOSHRI AASARABAI POLYTECHNIC EKLAHARE, NASHIK
Department of Civil Engineering

Log Book for Micro- Project

Semester :- 4th Programme / Code :- CE4I

Course / Code :-(22403) Class: Second Year

Topic of the Micro- Project :- Study Of Maintenance Of Railway Track

Sr. Name of Group Members. Sign.

No.

1 Jadhav Omkar Mahendra

2 Mhaske Sarthak Bajirao

3 Pawar Shubham Rajendra

6
Week Discussion & Details Members Teacher’s Comment Teacher’
No. Present s Sign.

1 Discussion on the concept of Micro

project with teacher

2 Finalization of Group and Project topic

with Project Proposal submission

3 Preliminary discussion with guide

about content of Micro project

4 Related Information Gathered by team

about project

5 Organizing the information for project work

6 Discussing project related queries with

teacher if any

7 Preparation of Micro project model or

content

8 Finalizing the project work by teacher

9 Report writing

10 Presentation , Oral Submission of

project and Project report

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 ANNEXURE
II

Evaluation Sheet for the Micro

Project Academic Year: 2023-

2024

Semester: 4th Course: Railway And Bridge Engineering

Course Code: 22403 Name of Faculty:- Mr. Swapnil Hole

Title of the Project:- Study And Maintenance Of Raiway Track

Major Learning Outcomes achieved by students by doing the Projects:

a) Practical Outcomes:- .

b) Unit Outcomes in Cognitive Domain:-

c) Outcomes in Affective Domain:- .

Comment /Suggestion about team work /Leadership/ Inter-personal communication

Roll Student Name Marks out of 3 Marks out of 2 for Total

No. for performance in out
performance oral / presentation of 05
in group activity
activity

10 Omkar Jadhav

19 Sarthak Mhaske

21 Shubham Pawar

Faculty Sign
(Mr. Swapnil Hole)

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

With deep sense of gratitude we would like to thanks all the people who
have lit our path with their kind guidance. We are very grateful to these
intellectuals who did their best to help during our project work.

It is our proud privilege to express deep sense of gratitude to, Dr. S. J.

Bagul Principal of Matoshri Aasarabai Polytechnic, Eklahare,
Nashik, for his comments and kind permission to complete this Micro
Project.

We remain indebted to Mrs.S.H.Patil , Head Department Of

Civil Engineering , for his suggestion and valuable guidance.

The special gratitude goes to our internal guide Mr Swapnil Hole , technical
staff members, and non-technical staff members, Civil Department for their
expensive, excellent and precious guidance in completion of this work.

Name of Students:
1.) Omkar Jadhav
2.) Sarthak Mhaske
3.) Shubham Pawar

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Write project Report in
following sequence:-
1. Abstract (250 words or less )
2. Introduction and Purpose :-
(Sometimes this section is called 'Background'. Whatever its name,
this section introduces the topic of the project, notes any
information already available, explains why you are interested in
the project, and states the purpose of the project.)

3. Materials and Methods:-

(List the materials you used in your project and describe the procedure
that you used to perform the project. If you have a photo or diagram
of your project, this is a good place to include it.)

4. Theoretical Background
Explicitly state your hypothesis or Law, Definition or
Explanation of subject topic you can understand under this project.

5. Practical Application
What is the importance of this study? Of what use is a study such as this?

6. Bibliography
⮚ Use proper citing format for books, journals, and websites. ⮚
Websites should include author of article if given, title of article
and the date the article was posted or retrieved from website.
NOTE: Must have at least 5 reliable resources.

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 Project Title

Study And Maintenance Of Railway Track

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 Introduction

 Definition of Track Maintenance

It is the overhauling of track periodically with the object of restoring it to its
best possible condition in which it can serve all the requirements of a good track.

 Need of Track Maintenance

1.Due to the constant movement of heavy and high-speed trains, the
packingunder the sleepers becomes loose and track geometry gets disturbed.
Thegauge, alignment, and longitudinal as well as cross levels of the track thus
getaffected adversely.2.Due to the vibrations and impact of high-speed
trains, the fittings of The track come undone and there is heavy wear and tear
of the track And its components.3.The track and its components get worn out
as a result typical climaticconditions.

Advantages of Track Maintenance

• Life Time of track increases.

• Reduces operational costs and fuel consumption up to 20-30%

• Provides safe and smooth running of trains.

• Gives pleasant ride to passengers without giving any noisy sounds.

• Higher speed of trains is achieved.

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Annual Programme of Regular Track Maintenance
Different Systems of Track Maintenance
1.Conventional System of Track Maintenance2. 2. 3-Tier System
of Track Maintenance In India Conventional system of track maintenance
is adopted. We will discussabout it.

Through Packing (Conventional Beater Packing)

The length track opened in day should not be more than the efficientmaintenance
to be done to that track at the end of the day.It consists the following operations in
sequenceA) Opening of the road. b) Examination of rails, sleepers and
fastenings.c) Squaring of sleepers.d) Slewing of track to correct alignment.e)
Gauging.f)Packing of sleepers.g) Boxing of ballast section and tidying.

a)Opening of the road

Ballast should be opened on either sides of rail seats, depth upto 50 mm>They
should not disturb cores under sleeper.Opening length on either sides is different
for differentgaugesIt is done with the help of shovels and powrahs

Examination of Rails, Sleepers and Fastenings

• Rails should be checked for wear and tear, corrosion, Cracks at rail
• Joints, cracks at ends.
• Sleepers condition at rail seats
• Check for loose Fastenings and fittings.
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C) Squaring of Sleepers
• Gauge variations and kinks inevitably Results from sleepers getting out
ofsquare.
• It is done by planting the crow bars firmly against the sleeper and pushingit

(d) Slewing of Track to Correct Alignment

• It is to ensure the correct alignment of track.
• It will be checked for alignment from a distance 25-30 metres.

e) Gauging
• It is to maintain uniform gauge distance. For B.G. 1676 mm, M.G. 1000mm
and 762 mm for N.G
• It is done only if the sleepers are truly square.
• Because of aging and different conditions of sleeper it is not Possible
tomaintain exact gauge distance.

(f) Packing of sleepers

• It is to check whether each sleeper is fixed firmly and uniformly with
the ballast.
• It is done with respect of one fixed sleeper to others.
• Each sleeper should be packed at a time by 4 members.

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 • After packing they will be blown by a wooden mallet. A hollow soundwill
indicate defective packing

Conventional System of Track Maintenance

 Track Maintenance by Machines

 3.Measured Shovel Packing
 Systematic Overhauling

(a) Shallow screening and making up of ballast.

(b) All items attended to, while doing through packing
(c) Making up the cess.

 Deep Screening of Ballastq

 Lubrication of Joints
 Picking up Slacks
 Using of Bio Toilets

MAINTENANCE PLANS AND CHECKING OF GANG CHARTS

(a) Based on the system of maintenance detailed short term plans covering a
months’s work (split into weekly programmes) should be prepared by Permanent
Way Inspector in-charge of the section, at least a month in advance of the
commencement of actual work. The permanent Way Inspector should ensure that
adequate tools, materials and man-power are arranged for the task allotted and
work executed within the specified time.

(b) Each mate should be supplied with a gang chart and a gang register. In the
gang chart, dayto-day track maintenance work over the gang length should be
recorded by the Permanent Way Inspector according to specified instructions. In
the gang registers, weekly programmes of work should be entered by the
Permanent Way inspector in-charge of the section. At the end of the week, he
should do qualitative and quantitative assessment of the work done and make
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suitable observations in the gang register after detailed inspection of the work
carried out during the previous week.
(c) Gang chart or gang registers should be checked by the Assistant Engineer and
Divisional Engineer during their inspections. They should record their
observations in the gang register when they inspect the section by trolley.

(d) On withdrawal of gang chart or gang registers and supply of fresh ones, the
permanent Way Inspector should carefully analyze the work done and take notes
of kilometerages that frequently gave trouble during the year, with a view to
formulate such special measures as may be necessary.

(e) Presently, all the details right from attendance of gangs to work done by gangs
are being uploaded in the TMS.

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DEEP SCREENING OF BALLAST
Deep Screening of ballast is done to ensure that a clean ballast cushion of required
depth is available below the bottom of sleepers, which is very necessary for proper
drainage and giving elasticity to the track. In the absence of a clean ballast cushion
of desired depth, the track geometry may get disturbed and the running of the
tracks gets affected adversely.

Procedure for deep screening.

The work of deep screening of ballast is normally carried out under speed
restrictions without obtaining a traffic block. It is desirable to proceed with the
work of deep screening in a direction opposite to that of traffic. Adequate quantity
of ballast, necessary equipment’s & tools and the labour required should however,
be arranged well in time. Work should not be carried out during rainy season. The
work may be done as follows :
(a) The work is to be done in way that a group of four sleepers are tackled in
a sequence. In the Fig. above, the sleepers are numbered as 1, 2, 3 & 4
etc. One sleeper is tackled at a time out of the four sleepers mentioned
above.
(b) Remove the ballast from spaces A and B down to formation and put
wooden blocks in their places to support the track. Take precautions not
to dig out the consolidated top of formation.
(c) Remove the ballast under the sleeper 1, screen the ballast, place
screened ballast under the same sleeper and pack it.
(d) Remove the wooden block from space A.
(e) Remove the ballast from space C and after screening it place it in space
A. If additional ballast is required the same may be taken from the extra
ballast already trained out in advance along- side the track.
(f) Place the wooden block removed from space A (item iv) in the space C,
Sleeper 2 has got wooden blocks on its either side for supporting the
track.
(g) Remove the ballast under sleeper 2 provide screened ballast under the
same and pack the sleeper.
(h) Remove ballast from space D, screen it and place it in space B. Take
extra ballast from the track.
(i) Remove wooden block from space B and put it in the space D to support
the rail.
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(j) Repeat the procedure till work is completed. It would be seen from the
above that the work is done in such a way that when ballast is being
excavated under one sleeper, there are at least four sleepers between this
and the next sleeper, where work is being done. The lifting of the track is
also done if required. It should be done only in stages of 50mm (2") at a
time. It should be ensured that packing, cross level and grading off are
satisfactory before closing the day’s work.

Speed Restrictions
The work of deep screening is done under speed restriction of 20 kmph. This
speed can be released to normal speeds by following methods.
(i) Manual packing : By successive manual packing four times and by
picking up slacks in period of 21 days.
(ii) Machine packing : When track is packed mechanically by tie tampers,
the speed can be relaxed to normal in a period of 10 days time. (track is
tamped thrice and slacks picked up in between).

1 LIFTING OF TRACK
Lifting of track normally becomes necessary as a result of re-grading of track due
to yard remodeling and construction of a bridge etc. or in an effort to eliminate
sags which develop in the approaches of level crossing and bridges and also at
other vulnerable locations due to defective maintenance or yielding soil of
formation. Following points about lifting of track require special mention:
(i) Lifting should be done to a maximum of 50 mm (2” ") in one stage.
Whenever heavy lifting is involved, the lifting should be done in
various stages, each time lift being not more than 50 mm.
(ii) Lifting should commence from the down hill and carried out in the
direction of rising gradient on single line. In case of double line, it
should proceed in the opposite direction of traffic, care being taken not
to exceed the easement grade.
(iii) Lifting should be done under the supervision of a PWI with suitable
speed restrictions and under the protection of Engineering Signals

LOWERING OF TRACK
Lowering of track becomes necessary due to re-grading of track which may be
required for works like yard remodeling and provision of level crossing etc.
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Lowering of track should not be resorted to unless unavoidable as this gives
instability to the track and is quite a difficult, time consuming and costly proposal.

LUBRICATION OF RAIL JOINTS

Lubrication of Rail joints is one of the important items of permanent way work
incidental to systematic track maintenance the lubrication of joints is done for the
following purpose:
(i) To allow for free expansion and contraction of rails.
(ii) To reduce wear and tear on the fishing planes of rails and fish plates.
The lubrication of rail joints, also called ‘oiling and greasing of fish
plates,’ is done once a year for all joints during the moderate season
which does not have extremes of weather (both hot and cold.). Rainy
season is also excluded for this purpose. The lubricant used is a paste of
workable consistency made of plumbago, kerosene oil and black oil in
the following proportion. Plumbago (Dry Graphite) 5 kg. for 100 joints
of 52 kg/90R. Kerosine oil (2nd quality) 3.5 lt. or Black or Reclaimed
oil 2.75 lt. for 125 joints of 75R/.90R Sometimes only plumbago and
kerosene oil is used in the ratio of 3:2 for lubrication of fish plates: the
black oil is, however, used for oiling of fish bolts and nuts. The rail
joints should be lubricated after ensuring that the surfaces are properly
cleaned, preferably by wire brushes and clean jute. The work should
not be done in extreme temperatures or when the rails are in tension
due to creep. While carrying out the work, not more than one joint is
opened at a time. In opening out one joint also, one fish plate should be
tackled at a time and it should be ensured that at no time during the
operation there is less than one fish plate and three fish bolts
connecting the two rails.

TOOLS OF P.WAY GANG

Each gang should have the following maintenance tools & equipments. The worn
out tools and equipments should be replaced every month.
(i) Level-cum gauge.
(ii) One set of hand signal flags red and green (2 hand signal lamps at night)
and 12 detonators.
(iii) Steel scale 30 cm long, straight edge 1 metre long, square, hemp cord
and marking chalk.
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(iv) Wooden mallet or Canne-a-boule, Fish bolt spanner, Keying and spiking
hammer, Rail thermometer.
(v) Sufficient number of shovels, phowrahs, beaters, crow bars, Ballast forks
or rakes, mortar pans or baskets. 2.15 KNOWLEDGE OF SAFETY
RULES The Permanent Way Supervisor (PWS), Mate and al

KNOWLEDGE OF SAFETY RULES

The Permanent Way Supervisor (PWS), Mate and all other gangmen should have
full knowledge of following safety rules.
(i) Protecting the line in an emergency or during works affecting the
running of trains including method for fixing of detonators and banner
flags etc.
(ii) Showing of signals with or without hand signal flag during day and
with hand signal lamp during night.
(iii) Action to be taken when a train is noticed to have parted.
(iv) Patrolling of line during heavy rains, storms, and during hot weather
for LWR track.
(v) ‘Safety first’ rules

ATTENTION TO SURFACE DEFECTS

Hogged joints Hogging of joint is a phenomenon in which two rail ends at the
joint get depressed due to poor maintenance of rail joint, loose & faulty fastenings
and such other reasons. The hogging of joints cause deterioration in the running
quality of track. The defect can be remedied by the following methods :
(i) By measured shovel packing. (It is rarely used now-a-days)
(ii) If the hogging is very small, over packing of the joint sleepers is done
and fittings are tightened, which may finally remedy the defect.
Sometimes, use of liners and shims may also help in removing the defect
in case fittings are loose.
(iii) By cropping of hogged portions of the rail (preferably 450 cm) and
reusing the rail after necessary drilling of holes etc.

High Joints
The high joints give a very uncomfortable riding of the track. The high joints are
caused normally because of :
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(i) Change in track structure e.g. wooden sleepers having been provided at
some locations in track which is laid normally with metal sleepers. The
maintainability of wooden sleepers, being better compared to the metal
sleepers, the joints tend to be high. This results in camel back riding.
(ii) Sinking of intermediate sleepers.
(iii) Over packing of joint sleepers,. The defect is removed by lifting and
packing the intermediate sleeper.
Blowing and Pumping joints
A joint is called blowing joint when it blows out the fine dust during the passage
of a train. The Surrounding of such a joint are always coated with find dust. A
blowing joint becomes a pumping joint during the rainy season when it pumps out
mud and water from the mud pockets formed below the joint. The defect is caused
because of poor maintenance of the joint particularly the packing of the joint
sleepers unclean ballast and bad drainage and also some time due to surface
defects in the rail such as scabbing etc. As the moving loads pass over the joint,
the joint sleepers constantly get depressed and lifted up. During this process, the
dust or mud get sucked up and spread in the vicinity of the joint. The remedy lies
in:
(i) Deep screening of the ballast below the joint and shoulder sleepers.
(ii) Packing the joint sleepers and shoulder sleepers thoroughly.
(iii) Providing proper drainage at the joint.
(iv) Tightening the loose fittings
(v) Providing 1.0 metre long fishplates at joints
(vi) Adjusting the creep, if any.

Longitudinal Sag in the Track

The track between two rigid structures like bridges, level crossing etc. normally
gets settled due to the passage of moving loads, the settlement of the track also
takes place on yielding formation due to the formation being weak and the ballast
getting punctured into the formation. Whereas a longitudinal unevenness in the
shape of a vertical curve may not be noticeable, an irregular longitudinal sag may
give quite an uncomfortable riding. In such cases, a proper survey should be
carried out and pegs fixed at the correct longitudinal level with the help of leveling
instrument, the track should then be lifted. The lifting should not be more than 75
mm at a time, enough quantity of ballast should be collected in advance so that
packing and lifting can be effective. The work should be done under speed
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restriction, if excessive lifting is involved.

TRACK DRAINAGE
Track drainage can be defined as the interception, collection and disposal of water
from, upon or under the track. It is accomplished by proper surface and sub-
surface drainage system.

MAINTENANCE OF TRACK IN TRACK CIRCUITED LENGTHS

Special precautions are necessary for maintaining track in track circuited lengths
as accidental short circuiting of a track circuit may cause serious delay to traffic.
Following are some of the important points on this connection.
(i) The permanent Way Inspector instructs the staff not to place across or
touch two rails in the track by any tool or metal object, which will
cause short circuiting of the track circuit.
(ii) All gauges, straight edges and trolley used in the track circuited length
should be insulated.
(iii) Ballast must be maintained clean throughout the track circuited section
and care should be taken to see that the ballast is kept clear of the rails
and rail fastening. The clearance from the foot of the rail must not be
less than 40 mm.
(iv) Proper drainage of track should be ensure so as to avoid flooding of
tracks during rains. Ash-pits and water columns and platform lines
should be specially watched.

INSULATED JOINTS
Track circuited sections are insulated electrically from the track on either side by
providing insulation joints. The most common type of insulated joints are.
(a) In one type, the insulation joints consists of planed fish plates fitted with fibre
or nylon insulation consisting of ferrules or bushes for the fish bolts, side channels
between the fish plates and rails and end posts between the rail ends.
(b) In other type, the insulation joint consists of rubber coated fish plates. There
are two designs in one design, the fish plate is coated with synthetic rubber or
nylon on the fishing surface, In another type fish plates are completely coated with
rubber or nylon including the bolt holes. These items have been tried in the field
22
but have not proved successful due to cutting of rubber coating.
(c) Recently insulated glued joints have been developed using resin adhesives.
These joints consist of web fitting type of fish plates glued to the rails with a high
polymer adhesive and bolted with high tensile bolts. The insulation is provided by
special type of insulating side channels, bushes and posts made out of fibre glass
cloth. These joints are absolutely movement free and hence maintenance problems
are completely eliminated.

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 Conclusion
To conclude, From this topic I came to know that track maintenance is essential
for safe,economic and smooth running of a rail. Indian Railways is taking special
careabout track maintenance, introducing new ideas to do track maintenance
moreefficiently.

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