Engineering Feat by South Central Railway
Amaravati, Jul 29: One of the areas in which engineering plays a key role is infrastructure – roads, airlines, railways, buildings, etc.
Indian Railways is the second largest railway network in Asia and the fourth largest in the world. It criss-crosses the length and breadth of the country, carrying people and cargo (goods).
This network is divided into sixteen zones. One of them is South Central Railway. One of the busiest parts of this zone is the sector from Balharshah to Kazipet. Within this route, falls the 9 km stretch of Manchiryal-Peddampet.
There are many cement, coal, and thermal plants around this stretch. The route is also a major gateway from north to south.
This means that both, the passenger and the cargo traffic on this sector is very high. This leads to congestion and delays. If the maximum permissible speed on this sector goes up, the travel time comes down. (Time = Distance/ Speed). So far, the permissible speed on this sector was 80 kmph. Within this stretch, there is a 1.2 km long bridge on the Godavari River. That bridge had a speed limit of 50 kmph.
Working on the Bridge
The engineers of South Central Railway strengthened the tracks formation, added switch expansion joints on both sides of the bridge, and strengthened the railway tracks through welding. They then tested the bridge using sophisticated equipment.
The Result
This allowed them to increase the maximum possible speed on this bridge from 50 to 100 kmph!
