IR inducts five new machines to undertake state-of-art track maintenance

Indian Railways (IR) has inducted five new machines to undertake state-of-the-art maintenance of railway tracks. These include three dynamic track-temping machines, one ballast-cleaning machine and one points-and-crossing tamping machine. At present, IR has a fleet of 883 track maintenance machines which are deployed on heavy density routes. The dynamic track-temping machines have been domestically manufactured with imported components under the Make in India initiative, at a cost of Rs 270 million each. These machines can measure pre- and post-track geometry, correct the track to the required geometry, tamp three sleepers simultaneously, stabilise and measure post-tamping track parameters under load to ensure the quality of work done. This eliminates the need for a separate stabilisation machine which reduces operating costs and track possession time. IR plans to add another 42 such machines to its fleet over the next three years. In addition, it also plans to add 41 ballast-cleaning machines and 62 points-and-crossing tamping machines over the three-year period.