Indian Railways has completed third party audit of over 815 out of 1107 identified bridges, road over bridges and foot over bridges, says a statement from the organization.
Out of total identified 1107 bridges/ROBs/FOBs, 3rd party audit of 815 bridges/ROBs/FOBs has been completed and balance works are in progress, according to Indian Railways.
The audit brought to the fore issues with 49 FOBs in Mumbai. Repairs were carried out on 43 ROBs and 6 ROBs were dismantled for rebuilding work that is in progress as of now.
Indian Railways has 1,50,390 bridges on its tracks across the country. There are also 3,449 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) for road users to cross tracks. For pedestrians, 3,771 foot-overbridge exist on the Indian Railways’ system.
IR decided in 2018 to undertake a third-party audit of key structures for independent safety assessments. The objective was to employ expert agencies for an understanding of the condition of critical components that may be prone to corrosion. The measure was expected to ensure transparency and create confidence in the system.
Expert agencies like IITs, NITs, SERC and others are conducting the third-party audit. Zones were advised to carry out a one-time third-party technical audit. All aspects of the bridge (strength assessment including NDT testing, design adequacy for present-day loading, physical condition etc. as considered necessary) by engaging expert national/international agencies are investigated.
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Photographs of boards at ROBs/FOBs and at stations have been uploaded on the web-based Indian Railways Bridge Management System (IRBMS) and can be checked on www.raildrishti.in
The third-party audit of the bridges was undertaken as per the following priority:
- All mega bridges, Railway Bridges with ORN 1 ratings, ROBs & FOBs.
- Railway Bridges with ORN 2 ratings and bridges with speed restrictions.
- All important bridges more than 80 yrs old.
- Any other bridge which railway consider critical from condition point of view.
To make the entire system transparent, Boards have been provided at all ROBs and FOBs. In respect of railway bridges, boards have been provided at the stations (for the next block section in increasing Km) at suitable locations on the main platform.
Indian Railways follows a well-established system of annual inspection and maintenance of railway bridges/ROBs/FOBs by the designated railway officials as per the laid down schedule.
