UNIT 01

1. History
The history of railways is closely linked with civilization. As the necessity arose,
human beings developed various methods of transporting goods from one place to
another. In the primitive days goods were carried as head loads or in carts drawn
by men or animals. Then efforts were made to replace animal power with mechanical
power. In 1769, Nicholes Carnot, a Frenchman, carried out the pioneering work of
developing steam energy. This work had very limited success and it was only in the
year 1804 that Richard Trevithick designed and constructed a steam locomotive.
This locomotive, however, could be used for traction on roads only. The credit of
perfecting the design goes to George Stephenson, who in 1814 produced the first
steam locomotive used for traction in railways.

The first public railway in the world was opened to traffic on 27 September
1825 between Stockton and Darlington in the UK. Simultaneously, other countries
in Europe also developed such railway systems; most introduced trains for carriage
of passenger traffic during that time. The first railway in Germany was opened
from Nurenberg to Furth in 1835. The USA opened its first railway line between
Mohawk and Hudson in 1833.

The first railway line in India was opened in 1853. The first train, consisting of
one steam engine and four coaches, made its maiden trip on 16 April 1853, when it
traversed a 21-mile stretch between Bombay (now Mumbai) and Thane in 1.25 hours.
Starting from this humble beginning, Indian Railways has grown today into a giant
network consisting of 63,221 route km and criss-crossing this great country from
the Himalayan foothills in the north to Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari) in the south
and from Dibrugarh in the east to Dwarka in the west. Indian Railways has a glorious
past of more than 150 years.

2. Developments in Indian Railways

Important developments in Indian Railways have been chronologically listed in
Table 01

Year Important events

1831-33 The first idea of a railway line from Madras (now Chennai) to Bangalore
conceived to improve the transport system of southern India
1843 Lord Dalhousie considers the possibility of connecting India by means of
railways
Mr. R.M. Stephenson forms the East Indian Railway Company for construction of
1844
railway lines
1845-46 Trial survey of a new line from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Delhi

1848-49 Construction of a railway line from Howrah to Raniganj sanctioned

Construction of a railway line from Bombay to Thane started by the Great
1850
Indian Peninsula Railway Company.
1850 Work started for a railway line between Bombay and Kalyan on 31 October 1850

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First railway line from Bombay to Thane opened for passenger traffic for a distance of 21
1853
miles (34 km) on 16 April
Railway line between Howrah and Hoogly (24 miles) opened for passenger traffic on 15
1854
August
Railway line between Veyasarpady and Waljah road (63 miles) opened for traffic under
1856 the banner of Madras Railway Company. In fact, this was the first proposal initiated in
1831 but could be completed only in 1854.
1856 First train in South India from Royapuram to Waljah road (Arcot)

1866 Calcutta linked with Delhi, Amritsar, and Bombay

First stage of development of Indian Railways classified as the Early Guarantee System.
The Government guaranteed a minimum percentage of return to shareholders in order to
attract private enterprisesto construct railways, but retained the right to purchase these
railways at the end of 25 or 50 years. A number of railway companies were formed for the
1850-68
construction of railways, namely, East India Railway (EIR), Great Indian Peninsula
Railway (GIP), Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway (BB&CIR) and Madras State
Railway (MSR), etc.

In 1869, it was decided by the British Government that future railway

projects should be either under the new guarantee system or under state
owned railways. Few states started construction of railway lines separately.
1869-81 The Government, however, exercised a considerable measure of control
to commercialize them. At this time there were company-managed railways
under the new guarantee system as well as state-managed railways. After
1870 the railways developed very fast.
Y
e1887 Victoria Terminus railway station constructed in Bombay
a
r1891 Toilets introduced in third class coaches.

1903 96-km-long Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge line opened to traffic on 9 November

1905 Railway Board assumes office; established with one president and two members
2000 Railway Board consisted of seven members including a Chairman
150th year of Indian Railways starts with effect from 16 April 2002 and Jan Shatabdi trains
2002 introduced
Indian Railways has 16 (earlier 9) zones and 67 (earlier 59) divisions with effect from 1 April
2003
2003
The Tenth Five Year Plan envisages an outlay of Rs 606,000 million, which is 4% of a total
2002-07
outlay of Rs 15,256,390 million for the full plan.

3. Long Term Operative Plans

The long term operative plans are shown in the table 02
Plan Year Objective
First five year Plan 1951-1956 Railway development
Development of indigenous sources of supply to make
Second five year Plan 1956-1961
the country self sufficient in railway equipment
Third five year Plan 1961-1966 Construction of new lines, many bridges, staff quarters.
Modernization of railways and improving the operational
Fourth five year Plan 1969-1974
efficiency.
Development of rapid transport system in metropolitan
Fifth five year Plan 1974-1979
cities.

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Limited resources of railways should be used for

Sixth five year Plan 1980-1985
rehabilitation of assets.
Seventh five year Manufacture of passenger coaches, electric multiple units
1985-1990
Plan and electric locomotives.
Modernisation of system to reduce the operating cost and
Eighth five year Plan 1992-1997
improves reliability.
Completion of Replacement, Rehabilitation and renewal
Ninth five year Plan 1997-2002
of over edge assets
Tenth five year Plan 2002-2007 Financial Performance of the Indian Railways
Eleventh 2007-2012 High Quality Services

4. Classification of Railway Lines in India

The Railway Board has classified the railway lines in India based on the importance of the
route, the traffic carried, and the maximum permissible speed on the route. The complete
classification is given below.
 Broad Gauge Routes
All the broad gauge (BG) routes of Indian Railways have been classified into five different
groups based on speed criteria as given below.

Group A lines

 These lines are meant for a sanctioned speed of 160 km/h.

 New Delhi to Howrah by Rajdhani route
 New Delhi to Mumbai Central by Frontier Mail/Rajdhani route
 New Delhi to Chennai Central by Grand Trunk route. Howrah to Mumbai VT via
Nagpur.
Group B lines
These lines are meant for a sanctioned speed of 130 kmph.
 Allahabad-Itarsi-Bhusaval
 Kalyan-Wadi Raichur-Madras
 Kharagpur-Waltair Vijayawada.
 Howrah-Bandel-Burdwan-Barharwa over Farakka-Malda town.
 Kiul-Sahibganj-Barharwa

Group C lines
These lines are meant for suburban sections of Mumbai, Kolkata, and Delhi.

Group D and D Spl lines

These lines are meant for sections where the maximum sanctioned speed is 100 km/h.

Group E and E Spl lines

These lines are meant for other sections and branch lines.
 Metre Gauge Routes

Depending upon the importance of routes, traffic carried, and maximum permissible speed,
the metre gauge (MG) tracks of Indian Railways were earlier classified into three main
categories, namely, trunk routes, main lines, and branch lines. These track standards have
since been revised and now the MG routes have been classified as Q, R1, R2, R3, and S
routes as discussed below.

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 Review of track standard or MG Routes
A committee of directors, chief engineers, and additional commissioner of railway
safety (ACRS) was formed in 1977 to review the track standards for MG routes. The committee
submitted its report in December 1981, in which it recommended
that MG routes be, classified into four categories, namely, P, Q, R, and S routes,
based on speed criteria. The committee’s recommendations were accepted by the
Railway Board after certain modifications. The final categories are as follows.
Q routes: Routes with a maximum permissible speed of more than 75 kmph.
The traffic density is generally more than 2.5 GMT [gross million tonne(s) per km/
annum].
R routes: Routes with a speed potential of 75 kmph and a traffic density of more than 1.5
GMT. R routes have further been classified into three categories depending upon the volume of
traffic:
(i) R1—traffic density more than 5 GMT
(ii) R2—traffic density between 2.5 and 5 GMT
(iii) R3—traffic density between 1.5 and 2.5 GMT

S routes: Routes with a speed potential of less than 75 kmph and a traffic density
of less than 1.5 GMT. These consist of routes that are not covered in Q, R1, R2,
and R3 routes. S routes have been further subclassified into three routes, namely,
S1, S2, and S3. S1 routes are used for the through movement of freight traffic, S3
routes are uneconomical branch lines, and S2 routes are those which are neither S1
nor S3 routes.

 Different Modes of Transport

Our environment consists of land, air, and water. These media have provided scope
for three modes of transport—land transport, air transport and water transport.
Rail transport and road transport are the two components of land transport. Each
mode of transport, depending upon its various characteristics, has intrinsic strengths
and weaknesses and can be best used for a particular type of traffic as given below.
Rail transport Owing to the heavy expenditure on the basic infrastructure required, rail
transport is best suited for carrying bulk commodities and a large number of passengers over
long distances.
Road transport Owing to flexibility of operation and the ability to provide door-
to-door service, road transport is ideally suited for carrying light commodities and a small
number of passengers over short distances.
Air transport Owing to the heavy expenditure on the sophisticated equipment
required and the high fuel costs, air transport is better suited for carrying passengers
or goods that have to reach their destinations in a very short period of time.
Water transport Owing to low cost of infrastructure and relatively slow speeds, water
transport is best suited for carrying heavy and bulky goods over long distances, provided there is
no consideration of the time factor.

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 Railway as a Mode of Land Transport

There are two modes of land transport, railways and roads, and each has its relative advantages and
disadvantages. These have been summarized in Table 03

Feature Rail transport Road transport

The movement of steel wheels on steel The tractive resistance of a pneumatic tyre
Tractive rails has the basic advantage of low rolling on metalled roads is almost five times
resistance resistance. This reduces haulage costs
because of low tractive resistance. compared to that of wheels on rail

A railway track is defined on two rails and Roads, though having well- defined limits,
is within protected limits. Trains work as can be used by any vehicular traffic and
Right of way per a prescribed schedule and even by pedestrians they are open to all.
no other vehicle has the right of way except
at specified level crossings.

Owing to the heavy Infrastructure, the
Cost analysis initial as well as maintenance cost of a
railway line is high
The gradients of railways tracks are flatter
Gradients (normally not more than 1 in 100) and
and Curves curves are limited up to only 10° on broad
gauge.
The cost of construction and maintenance
of roads is comparatively cheaper.
Roads are constructed normally with
steeper gradients of up to 1 in 30 and
relatively much
sharper curves

Due to the defined routes and facilities Road transports have much more flexibility
Flexibility of in movement and can provide door-to-door
required for the reception and dispatch of
movement trains, railways can be used only between services.
fixed points.
Road transport creates comparatively greater
Environment Railways have minimum adverse effects on pollution than the railways.
pollution the environment.

Barring member state government

Organization Railways are government undertakings,
and control with their own organization.
Railways are best suited for carrying heavy
goods and large numbers of passengers
Suitability over long distances
transport, road transport is managed by the
private sector.
.
Road transport is best suited for carrying
lighter goods and smaller numbers of
passengers over shorter distances

 Organization of Indian Railways

Indian Railways (IR) is at present the biggest public undertaking of the Government of India,
having a capital-at-charge of about Rs 560,000 million. The enactments regulating the
construction and operation of railways in India are the Indian Tramway Act of 1816 and the
Indian Railway Act of 1890 as amended from time to time. The executive authority in
connection with the administration of the railways vests with the Central Government and the
same has been delegated to the Railway Board as per the Indian Railway Act referred to
above.

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Railway Board

The responsibility of the administration and management of Indian Railways rests

with the Railway Board under the overall supervision of the Minister for Railways.
The Railway Board exercises all the powers of the Central Government in respect
of the regulation, construction, maintenance, and operation of the Railways.

The Railway Board consists of a chairman, a financial commissioner for railways,

and five other functional members. The chairman is the ex-officio principal secretary
to the Government of India in the Ministry of Railways. He reports to the Minister
for Railways and is responsible for making decisions on technical and administrative
matters and advising the Government of India on matters of railway policy. All
policy and other important matters are put up to the Minister through the chairman
or other board members.

The financial commissioner for railways is vested with the full powers of the
Government of India to sanction railway expenditure and is the ex-officio secretary to the
Government of India in financial Ministry of Railways matters. The members
of the Railway Board are separately in charge of matters relating to staff, civil engineering,
traffic, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering. They
function as ex-officio secretaries to the Government of India in their respective
spheres.

To be able to effectively tackle the additional duties and responsibilities arising

from increased tempo of work, the Railway Board is assisted by a number of
technical officers designated additional members and executive directors, who are
in-charge of different directorates such as civil engineering, mechanical, electrical,
stores, traffic and transportation, commercial, and planning and are responsible
for carrying out technical functions. These officers, however, do not make major
policy decisions.

Zonal Railways
The entire railway system was earlier divided into nine zonal railways. To increase
efficiency, the Railway Ministry decided to set up seven new railway zones, namely,
North Western Railway at Jaipur, East Central Railway at Hajipur, East Coast
Railway at Bhubaneswar, North Central Railway at Allahabad, South Western
Railway at Bangalore, West Central Railway at Jabalpur, and South East Central
Railway at Bilaspur. All the new railway zones have been fully functional from 1
April 2003.
The zonal railways take care of the railway business in their respective areas
and are responsible for management and planning of all work. Each zonal railway
is administered by a general manager assisted by additional general managers and
heads of departments of different disciplines, namely, civil engineering, mechanical,
operating, commercial, accounts, security, signals and telecommunications,
electrical, personnel, medical, etc

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General Manager (GM)

SDGM AGM Secretary Deputy CPRO

to GM [3M(G)]

CPO FA&CAO COM CCM CE CME CSTE CEE CSC COS CMO CAO(C)

Designation Abbreviation Brief duties

General Manager Overall in charge of a zonal railway of about 2500 to 7000

GM
route
Additional general AGM Second in position. In charge of general administration
Senior deputy general
SDGM Chief vigilance officer and in charge of allotment of houses,
etc

Chief public relations officer CPRO Public relation work

Chief personal officer CPO Establishment matters and labour relations
Financial adviser and
FA&CAO
chief accounts officer Accounting and all financial matters
Chief operations manager COM Running of trains and transport of passengers and goods
Chief commercial
CCM
Manager Sales and marketing of passenger and goods services
Chief engineer Maintenance and management of track bridges and civil
CE
engineering assets
Chief mechanical
Engineer CME Maintenance and repair of locomotives, coaches, and
wagons
Chief signal and
Telecommunication Maintenance and construction of signaling and
CSTE
Engineer telecommunication
facilities
Chief electrical engineer Maintenance and repair of electric locomotives, electric
CEE
multiple units (EMUs) stock, and all electric installations
Chief security Security of railway installations
CSC
Commissioner
Controller of stores COS Procurement and supply of all stores items
Chief medical officer CMO Medical attention and healthcare of all railway employees

Chief administrative officer Construction of all major engineering projects.

CAO
(construction)

5. Train Resistance And its Types

Various forces offer resistance to the movement of a train on the track. These
resistances may be a result of the movement of the various parts of the locomotives
as well as the friction between them, the irregularities in the track profile, or the
atmospheric resistance to a train moving at great speed. The tractive power of a
locomotive should be adequate enough to overcome these resistances and haul the
train at a specified speed.

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 Resistance Due to Friction

Resistance due to friction is the resistance offered by the friction between the internal parts of
locomotives and wagons as well as between the metal surface of the rail and the wheel to a
train moving at a constant speed. This resistance is independent of speed and can be further
broken down into the following parts.
Journal friction: This is dependent on the type of bearing, the lubricant used, the temperature
and condition of the bearing, etc. In the case of roll bearings, it varies from 0.5 to 1.0 kg per
tonne.
Internal resistance: This resistance is consequential to the movement of the various parts of the
locomotive and wagons.
Rolling resistance: This occurs due to rail-wheel interaction on account of the movement of
steel wheels on a steel rail. The total frictional resistance is given by the empirical formula
R1 = 0.0016W
Where R1 is the frictional resistance independent of speed and W is the weight of the train in
tonnes.

 Resistance Due to Wave Action

When a train moves with speed, a certain resistance develops due to the wave action of the
train. Similarly, track irregularities such as longitudinal unevenness and differences in cross
levels also offer resistance to a moving train. Such resistances are different for different
speeds. There is no method for the precise calculation of these resistances but the following
formula has been evolved based on experience:

R2 = 0.00008WV
Where R2 is the resistance due to wave action and track irregularities on account of the speed
of the train, W is the weight of the train in tonnes, and V is the speed of the train in km/h.

 Resistance Due to Wind

When a vehicle moves with speed, a certain resistance develops, as the vehicle has to move
forward against the wind. Wind resistance consists of side resistance, head resistance, and tail
resistance, but its exact magnitude depends upon the size and shape of the vehicle, its speed,
and wind direction as well as velocity. Wind resistance depends upon the exposed area of the
vehicle and the velocity and direction of the wind. In Fig. V is the velocity of wind at an angle
. The horizontal component of wind, V cos, opposes the movement of the train. Wind
normally exerts maximum pressure when it acts at an angle of 60° to the direction of the
movement of the train.

Fig. Resistance due to wind

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R3 = 0.000017AV2
Where A is the exposed area of vehicle (m2) and V is the velocity of wind (km/h). Studies also
support the fact that the important factors that affect wind resistance are the exposed area of
the vehicle and the relative velocity of the wind vis-à-vis that of the vehicle. In fact, wind
resistance depends upon the square root of the velocity of the wind. The following formula has
been empirically established on the basis of studies.

R3 = 0.0000006WV2

Where R3 is the wind resistance in tonnes, V is the velocity of the train in km/h, and
W is the weight of the train in tonnes.

 Resistance Due to Gradient

When a train moves on a rising gradient, it requires extra effort in order to move against gravity
as shown in Fig.

Assuming that a wheel of weight W is moving on a rising gradient OA, the following forces act
on the wheel.
(a) Weight of the wheel (W), which acts downward
(b) Normal pressure N on the rail, which acts perpendicular to OA
(c) Resistance due to rising gradient (R4), which acts parallel to OA
These three forces meet at a common point Q and the triangle QCD can be taken as a triangle
of forces. It can also be geometrically proved that the two triangles
QCD and AOB are similar. From DQCD

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It may be noted here that when a train ascends a slope, extra effort is required to overcome the
resistance offered by the gradient. The position is, however, reversed when the train descends a
slope and the resistance offered by the gradient helps in the movement of the train.

 Resistance Due to Curvature

When a train negotiates a horizontal curve, extra effort is required to overcome the resistance
offered by the curvature of the track. Curve resistance is caused basically because of the
following reasons

(a) The vehicle cannot adapt itself to a curved track because of its rigid wheel base. This is why
the frame takes up a tangential position as vehicle tries to move in a longitudinal direction
along the curve as shown in Figure. On account of this, the flange of the outer wheel of the
leading axle rubs against the inner face of the outer rail, giving rise to resistance to the
movement of the train.
(b) Curve resistance can sometimes be the result of longitudinal slip, which causes the forward
motion of the wheels on a curved track. The outer wheel flange of the trailing axle remains
clear and tends to derail. The position worsens further if the wheel base is long and the curve
is sharp.

(c) Curve resistance is caused when a transverse slip occurs, which increases the friction between
the wheel flanges and the rails.

(d) Poor track maintenance, particularly bad alignment, worn out rails, and improper levels, also
increase resistance.

(e) Inadequate superelevation increases the pressure on the outer rail and, similarly, excess
superelevation puts greater pressure on the inner rails, and this also contributes to an increase
in resistance.

Empirical formulae have been worked out for curve resistance, which are as follows:
Curve resistance for BG (R5) = 0.0004WD
Curve resistance for MG (R5) = 0.0003WD
Curve resistance for NG (R5) = 0.0002WD
Where W is the weight of the train in tonnes and D is the degree of the curve.

 Compensated gradient for curvature

Curve resistance is quite often compensated or offset by a reduction in the gradient. In this
way, the effect of curve resistance is translated in terms of resistance due to gradient. The
compensation is 0.04% on BG, 0.03% on MG, and 0.02% on NG lines for every 1° of the
curve. This will be clear through the solved example given below.

Example: Calculate the compensated gradient on a BG track with a 4° curvature on a ruling

gradient of 1 in 200.
Solution:
Ruling gradient = 1 in 200 = 0.5%
Compensation for curvature = 0.04 × 4 = 0.16%
Compensated gradient = 0.05 – 0.16 = 0.34% = 1 in 294

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 Resistance Due to Starting and Accelerating

Trains face these resistances at stations when they start, accelerate, and decelerate. The values
of these resistances are as follows: Resistance on starting,
R6 = 0.15W1 + 0.005W2
Resistance due to acceleration,
R7 = 0.028aW
Where W1 is the weight of the locomotive in tonnes, W2 is the weight of the vehicles in
tonnes, W is the total weight of the locomotive and vehicle in tonnes, i.e. W1 + W2, and a is
the acceleration, which can be calculated by finding the increase in velocity per unit time, i.e.,
(V2 – V1)/t, where V2 is the final velocity, V1 is the initial velocity, and t is the time taken.

Details of various resistances

 Tractive Effort of a Locomotive

The tractive effort of a locomotive is the force that the locomotive can generate for hauling
the load. The tractive effort of a locomotive should be enough for it to haul a train at the
maximum permissible speed. There are various tractive effort curves available for different
locomotives for different speeds, which enable the computation of the value of tractive effort.
Tractive effort is generally equal to or a little greater than the hauling capacity of the
locomotive. If the tractive effort is much greater than what is required to haul the train, the
wheels of the locomotive may slip.

 Hauling Power of a Locomotive

The hauling power of a locomotive depends upon the weight exerted on the driving wheels
and the friction between the driving wheel and the rail. The coefficient of friction depends

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upon the speed of the locomotive and the condition of the rail surface. The higher the speed of
the locomotive, the lower the coefficient of friction, which is about 0.1 for high speeds and 0.2
for low speeds. The condition of the rail surface, whether wet or dry, smooth or rough, etc.,
also plays an important role in deciding the value of the coefficient of function. If the surface
is very smooth, the coefficient of friction will be very low. Hauling power = number of pairs
of driving wheels × weight exerted on the driving wheels × coefficient of friction Thus, for a
locomotive with three pairs of driving wheels, an axle load of 20 t, and a coefficient of friction
equal to 0.2, the hauling power will be equal to 3 × 20 × 0.2 t, i.e., 12 t.

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