The Hindu Business Line : Overloading of rail wagons continues despite enhanced limits

New Delhi, Feb. 22Indian Railways’ move to officially allow higher loadings on tracks by increasing axle load of wagons seems to have boomeranged, with higher levels of overloading taking place now.

A Railway study on the South Eastern sector reveals that the extent of overloading has gone up significantly after the axle load was increased to 22.9 tonnes from 20.32 tonnes. South Eastern Railway deals primarily with iron ore traffic.

Earlier (before 2005), wagons were overloaded to the extent of 24-25 tonnes per axle most of the time. However, in 2006 and 2007, when Railways allowed higher levels (22.9 tonne) of axle load, wagons were overloaded at 28-29 tonnes and even 30 tonnes per axle at times.

Damage to tracks

Excess loads damage the rail tracks and wheels, resulting in faster wear and tear. For Railways, which uses the same tracks to run passenger trains, this has emerged as a major concern as damaged rails could even result in accidents if not detected on time, apart from higher maintenance costs.

To tackle the problem, South Eastern Railway has started imposing speed restrictions and even detached culprit wagons that have over 105 tonnes of gross weight. It has also increased monitoring with more weigh bridges and wheel impact load detectors.

The study says axle load of over 22.82 tonnes was moving even before Railway Board’s formal permission in 2004-05. For instance, tests spread over five months on 26 rakes showed that the maximum axle load detected in a wagon was at 23.28 tonnes, 24.16 tonnes, 24.41 tonnes, 25.77 tonnes and 28.37 tonnes.

Contrast this with 2006 and 2007 results. In March 2006, eight rakes were tested in the zone, of which 26 per cent wagons were found to have axle loads over the permissible limit of 22.82 tonnes. And, in these rakes, the wagon that was overloaded the maximum had a whopping 30.65 tonnes per axle load (almost what the rail dedicated freight corridor intends to achieve). In January-February 2006, three rakes were tested and over 60 per cent wagons were found overloaded. In August-November 2007, over 45 per cent wagons were found to be loaded beyond what Railways officially permits. And the maximum axle load detected in the wagons was in the range of 28-29 tonnes.

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