doubling project synopsis

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Definition of doubling.A new railway line is required to be constructed normally in a new area for one or more of the following considerations:

Strategic and political considerations. Development of backward area. Connecting new trade centres. To shorten the existing rail lines.

Doubling of existing single railway line is also done in few cases to cope up with the additional requirement to traffic.

Doubling of railway line means construction of an additional line. It is normally done when single line is not a position to carry the number of trains required to pass on the section.

1.2 Main steps involved in doubling of railway line.i. Engineering cum traffic survey: engineering cum traffics survey is

first carried out to examine the traffic prospects of the section and to roughly estimate the quantum of work involved and cost aspect of the same.

ii. Specifications of work: while executing the work, it is necessary to clearly understand the standard of construction and specifications to be followed.

iii. Land acquisition: extra land, if necessary, for the double line station yard, bridges, etc. Is acquired, if not already done.

iv. Earthwork: it is done for double line, by widening the existing formations the suit the double line. Earthwork is divided in different zones and the contract is awarded for each separately.

v. Bridges: the existing bridges are extended to suit the double lines. The extension is done with proper planning so that there is minimum dislocation to traffic.

1 PLANNING OF DOUBLING OF B.G. RAILWAY LINE AT UTRAITIA - ZAFRABAD

vi. Plate lying: rails, sleepers and fastenings are collected in track depots established for the projects.

vii. Opening for goods traffic and ballasting: as soon as construction work is completed, the line is opened for goods traffic at restricted speed.

viii. Opening line for passenger traffic: the speed restrictions are slowly relaxed and speed is brought to maximum permissible speed of the section.

1.3 Prominence of this project.The importance of this project lies in the fact that it forms a vital link in a sequential chain of rail sections which together constitutes the trunk "b" route of northern railway. This trunk "b" route extends from Mughalsarai at one end, to Amritsar at the other end, and passes through Varanasi - Lucknow - Bareilly- Moradabad- Saharanpur- Ambala and beyond up to Amritsar.The other trunk route i.e. the "a" route of northern railway also originates from Mughalsarai and, after passing through Allahabad - Kanpur- Ghaziabad - Delhi - Panipat, it merges with the "b" route at Ambala. The rail traffic originating from eastern / south eastern parts of the country , and bound for Punjab and other adjoining areas in the northern part of the country , has traditionally been moving mainly via this "a" route .The "a" route is a broad gauge , double line , completely electrified route .but, during the recent years the "a" rout is beginning to feel the strain of having to move very large quantum of traffic, so much so that in several sections of the route , the density of rail traffic exceeded the saturated limits of line capacity and by the end of this century , the pressure of "a" route is only destined to increase , thereby inducing important need for introducing a new line i.e. Doubling.


Chapter 2: Problem definition

Object of proposed work is illustrated below:

With this mounting pressure of rail traffic on "a" route, the need for diverting some of the rail traffic to the "b" route is increasingly being felt. In fact, all the freight traffic from eastern /south eastern railways bound for destinations beyond Ambala, which is presently moving via the "a" route, is actually identified as freight traffic which should rationally move through the "b" route. However, the existing line capacity of the "b" route is not commensurate with the requirement of handling any diversion of rail traffic from "a" route. Besides the fact that it is non - electrified, one major operational constraint of the "b" route is that the Utraitia - Sultanpur - Zafrabad section is single line section which severely restricts the smooth flow of traffic. Some sort of route rationalism is being followed by Lucknow division by utilizing the two adjoining section of Varanasi- Zafrabad- Sultanpur- Utraitia and Varanasi -Janghai -Pratapgarh- Utraitia as a double line section for the purpose of freight traffic. The down goods traffic (i.e., Mughalsarai) is moved via Sultanpur, while the goods traffic in UP direction is routed via the adjoining Varanasi- Janghai -Pratapgarh - Rai Bareilly -Utraitia section. But, the line capacity utilization of this adjoining section (i.e. Via Pratapgarh) has also reached a saturation point, and as such, it will not be able to shoulder any further burden of rail traffic. In the circumstances, one viable option is to make Utraitia - Zafrabad a double line section so that the resultant increasing line capacity of this section would enable it to handle the anticipated increase in traffic on this route.

The need for diverting some rail traffic from "a" route to "b" route is not only visualised from the point of view of existing line capacity constraints of the former , but is also felt for several other reasons. With the modernisation of track maintenance procedure, the requirement of traffic blocks of longer duration has been recognised so as to get the optimum benefit from the modern maintenance machines. Proper maintenance of track in strict conformity with the specified safety standards /parameters is absolutely


essential for important rail routes like the "a" route that handles heavy freight loads and prestigious. Superfast trains like the Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains. With the growing emphasis on safety in trains operations, there is a constant pressure on the traffic department to sanction appropriate traffic blocks at frequent intervals for the maintenance of "a" route. This in turn, necessitates diversion of some trains from "a" route to "b" route.


Figure 1 this map shows the route proposed for doubling work.


Chapter 3:Project description

3.1 Introduction.

Utraitia - Sultanpur- Zafrabad is a broad gauge, single line rail section, 219.6 kms in length under the administrative jurisdiction of Lucknow division of northern railway. Territorially, the entire section lies in the state of Uttar Pradesh and its alignment traverses through Lucknow, Sultanpur and Varanasi districts of the state.

3.2 Backgrounds.

The need for diverting some rail traffic from "a" route to "b" route is not only visualized from view of existing line capacity constraints of the former, but is also felt for several other reasons. With the modernisation of the track maintenance procedure, the requirement of traffic blocks of longer duration has been recognised so as to get the optimum benefit from the modern maintenance machines. With the growing emphasis on safety in trains operations, there is a constant pressure on the traffic department to sanction appropriate traffic blocks at frequent intervals for the maintenance of "a" route. This in turn, necessitates diversion of some from "a" route t "b" route.

Besides, the need to divert rail traffic from "a" route to "b" route is also actually felt whenever there is dislocation / stoppage of traffic on "a" route due to accident /mishap, or any other unforeseen reason.

Heavy pressure of running mail/express trains and freight train on "a" route , an electrified section, correspondingly increases the need for diversion of some of the freight traffic of "a" to its proper route i.e. The "b" route , even though the latter is not electrified . The existing situation is adversely affecting the maintenance aspect of "a" route as well as leading to the over utilization of its provided line capacity, thereby, increasingly heavy detention to freight traffic. Zafrabad section has been selected for development as a nodal freight station for unloading and distribution of bulk commodities such as fertilizers in eastern U.P.


3.3 Justification of the Proposed Doubling Of the Project Section.

At present, on average, about 40 trains are being received from eastern railway at Mughalsarai, out of which about 30 to 31 trains run via "a" route and the balance 9 to 10 trains are run via route "b" route. Some of the traffic meant for destinations of "b" route e.g. Ropar power house, N.F.L., N.L.D.M. etc. is being moved over "a" route to take advantag3 of the electrified traction and to avoid line capacity constraints on the single line portion of route "b". Since "a" is expected to reach the limiting values of 60 g.m.t. traffic per annum by 1997-98, all increment traffic from e. Rly after that period would have to be moved per force via "b" route . By the turn of the century, the "a" route would be expected to move about 38 to through goods trains.

In addition, there will be about 4% increase in passenger trains also. Doubling of Lucknow –Sultanpur -Zafrabad section is therefore, inescapable. Between Lucknow - Mughalsarai on this route, the section between Zafrabad - Mughalsarai i.e. 82 kms, is already doubled. Between Utraitia and Amritsar, double line has already been completed.

Hence, doubling of the project section which is a leftover portion for doubling is absolutely necessary to complete the entire doubling of the "b" route.

3.4 Existing Line Capacity of the Project Section.

As per practice on the Lucknow division, freight traffic is being moved between Lucknow - Mughalsarai by adopting route rationalisation. The DN traffic toward Mughalsarai is being carried via Sultanpur, whereas up traffic for Lucknow is being carried out via Pratapgarh.

The capacity utilisation of

Utraitia - Sultanpur -Zafrabad section at present is 80% BSB -JNH-PBH-RBL-LKO 92% BSB-JNH 92.7% JNH-PBH 55.5% PBH -CIL 82.7% CIL -RBL 63.6%


RBL-BCN 81.8% BCN -UTR 86.4%

From the above values it is clear that sections adjacent to the project section are also either already saturated with traffic density, or fast approaching saturation.

3.5 Route Selection.

3.5.1 Various Alternative Routes Examined and Reasons For The Route Adopted.

The doubling of Utraitia - Sultanpur-Zafrabad project is for diverting freight traffic from Mughalsarai - Allahabad - New Delhi Rajdhani route so as to provide room for additional coaching traffic to be introduced in near future . The project alignment shall be able to accommodate traffic destined For Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and J& K states. There are three alternatives routes available between Mughalsarai and Lucknow namely via Varanasi - Pratapgarh -Rae Bareilly -Lucknow, via Sultanpur and via Faizabad Loop. Out Of These, The Zafrabad- Sultanpur -Utraitia route is shortest. The route will also cater to the local freight traffic generated from Jagdishpur industrial area having industries viz. Indogulf fertilizer limited and Malvika Steel.

3.5.2 General Description of the Alignment

1. Out of the three alternative routes available for doubling from Varanasi to Lucknow, railway board have sanctioned doubling of Zafrabad - Sultanpur -Utraitia section leaving no room for further examination. However, construction of the new line as up or down line was the main consideration. Following considerations influenced this selection :- Site of existing stations, Availability of railway land along the existing alignment. Existence of religious monuments and other places of worship.


Any obligatory location which may hinder acquisition of private land.

2. For a length of 52 kms. From Varanasi to Zafrabad, the section is already a double line section. Zafrabad is a small junction station from where traffic gets diverted to Sultanpur - Utraitia section and also to Faizabad loop. Both of these loop goes to Lucknow.

3. Out of 28 nos. Crossing station en -route, only Jaunpur city, Sultanpur and Sindhurwa stations are important.


Chapter 4:Span/ Advantage/ limitation

Span or scope of this project would be:

Soil report may be used as a reference for other civil project near the site of project.

Topographical survey data can be used for similar projects near the site for design of any other structure.

The traffic survey cab help in proper maintenance and future developments in the concerned area.

The continuation of this project will help in understanding the use of new technologies employed for this purpose.

Advantages are illustrated below:

Double track can manage a larger amount of traffic with usually twice the capacity of single track. It is often seen around large metropolis or on busy inter-city corridors.

In double track, faster trains can overtake slower ones, and doubling can contribute to faster operation of trains. High speed train of 200 km/h average speed and commuter rail of 40 km/h average can co-exist in double track without interrupting each other.

It is relatively easy to do maintenance and engineering work of tracks in double line with minimum effect of train delay because single tracks are halted during the work.

When we lay double track in deserted area and if one of the tracks is covered with the sand then other track can be still functional. Thus ensuring no hindrances in rail operation.

Provision of alternate routes : Pressure on existing network will reduce Economic scenario will improve Higher penetration of products More flexibility in movement Better connectivity.


improved utilization of tracks Higher efficiency Reduction in operating expenses Lesser or no idling situations

Limitations

Double track costs more due to requiring more materials and increased land acquisition costs. This also applies to tunneling and bridge costs.

When adding tracks, land acquisition can become prohibitively expensive.

Maintenance costs are higher and often more complex as there may be more switches (points) on the track than on a one-track line.


Chapter 5:References

Internet websites referred are:

www.nr.indianrailways.gov.in

www.rvnl.org

www.rdso.indianrailways.gov.in

www.wikipedia.com

"Railway Works Engineering" By M.M. Agarwal

"Indian Railway Tack " By M.M. Agarwal
