Specification No.

60-BD-97
(Draft-Revision-01 of Jan-2022)

INDIAN RAILWAYS

SPECIFICATION

FOR

ROTARY COUPLER

For

FREIGHT STOCK

ISSUED BY
RESEARCH DESIGN AND STANDARDS ORGANISATION
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
MANAK NAGAR, LUCKNOW – 226011
INDIA

Nov.-2021 Price: Rs. …….

 Specification No. 60-BD-97
(Draft-Revision-01 of Jan-2022)

SPECIFICATION FOR ROTARY COUPLER FOR BROAD GAUGE GONDOLA

BOGIE WAGONS OF INDIAN RAILWAYS

FOREWORD
Indian Railway has contemplated application of Rotary Couplers in freight stock. The
application is being considered for serving various advantages offered by Rotary
Couplers like wagons are to be rotated in dumpers for discharging without being
uncoupled, high unloading rate etc. The total detention time at terminals is very much
less as the whole train can be tippled at a very fast rate and since the wagons are not
uncoupled & recoupled, no continuity test is required. The overall result is less turn-
around time of wagons resulting in better utilization of assets.

1. DEFINITIONS

1.1 ‘PURCHASER’ means the Ministry of Railways on behalf of the President of the
Republic of India.
1.2 ‘IR’ means Indian Railways.
1.3 ‘RDSO’ means the Research Designs & Standards Organization, Manak Nagar,
Lucknow – 226011, India.
1.4 ‘TENDERER’ means the Firm/Company that submits offer for supply of Rotary
Couplers as per this specification.
1.5 ‘CONTRACTOR’ means the Firm/Company on whom order for supply of Rotary
Couplers as per this specification is placed/will be placed.
1.6 ‘INSPECTION AUTHORITY’ means the representative of RDSO, nominated to inspect
the supplies on behalf of purchaser.
1.7 ‘SUB-TENDERER’ means any firm or company from whom the Tenderer may obtain
an item of supply not manufactured by the Tenderer himself.
1.8 ‘SUB-CONTRACTOR’ means any firm or company from whom the Contractor may
obtain any material, sub-assemblies or assemblies used for the manufacture of
Rotary couplers.
1.9 ‘AAR' means Association of American Railroads.

1.10 BG' means 1676 mm gauge, referred to as Broad Gauge. *IRS means Indian
Railway Standard.
1.11 ’ IRS’ means Indian Railway Standards
1.12 'IS' means Indian Standard.

2. SCOPE

2.1 This specification covers the technical requirements for manufacture and supply,
scope of supply, design parameters, performance requirements, Acceptance
requirements, inspection procedure and maintenance requirements of AAR
approved Rotary Couplers and its components for Indian Railway freight stock.
 Specification No. 60-BD-97
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All the provisions contained in RDSO’s ISO procedures laid down in Document
No. Q.O-D-8.1-11 dated 08.05.2019 (Titled” Vendor-Changes in Approved
Status”) and subsequent version/amendments thereof, shall be binding and
applicable on the successful vendor/vendors in the contracts floated by Railways
to maintain quality of products supplied to Railways.

3. SCOPE OF SUPPLY

ROTARY Coupler

Tenderer shall submit his offer for Rotary coupler compatible with AAR standard
'E' type head (contour - 10A) and F type shank. The details of IR present coupler
are covered in Annexure-A. The offer shall consist of complete coupler assembly
to be used with existing draft gear to specification WD-71-BD-15 being used on
IR which can be mounted in pocket of centre sill of wagon without any extra
components/parts. The offer shall consist of the following:

S.No. Description Nos. off per

Coupler

1. Rotary Coupler complete with shank wear plate, 1

Knuckle, lock, knuckle thrower, knuckle pivot pin
with washer, top lock lift hole cap, rotary bottom
operated articulated lock lift assembly etc.

2. Rotary coupler yoke. 1

3. Rotary connector and yoke pin complete. 1

4. Yoke pin support with wear plate complete. 1

5. Striker casting with wear plate complete. 1

6. Draft gear front follower. 1

7. Un coupling arrangement.

8. Any other components, the tenderer may recommend if 1

required to make coupler assembly complete along with
quantity.

4.0 GAUGES:
One complete set of maintenance gauges of Rotary coupler components for each
500 nos., or part thereof, of supply of Rotary coupler, has to be supplied by the
firm to Railway.
 Specification No. 60-BD-97
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5.0 CUT MODELS AND COLOURED WALL CHARTS

The contractor shall supply following items free of cost to Railways:

i) One no. of cut model of Rotary Coupler per 1000 nos., or part thereof, of supply
ii) 25 sets of colored wall charts, explaining working, component and details of
maintenance requirements, of Rotary Coupler per 1000 nos., or part thereof,
of supply

6.0 DESIGN REQUIREMENTS:

6.1 The Rotary coupler should be suitable for Indian Railway Open wagons having
gross load of 100t. The Rotary coupler shall be provided on one end of one
wagon and it shall be suitable for coupling with Indian Railway Coupler to
specification WD-70-BD-10 having AAR ‘E’ type head (10A contour) & ‘F’ shank
for freight stock.

6.2 The Rotary coupler design must be as per the latest standards, regulations and
specifications issued by AAR. The Rotary coupler must be approved by AAR
and have excellent field performance record.

6.3 The Rotary coupler must meet the performance requirement as covered in
Annexure-B of this specification.

6.4 The design offered for latest Rotary coupler must be supported by standard
calculation, technical studies, tests and procedure to justify that the Rotary
coupler offered meets the technical requirements for Open wagons (as referred
in Annexure-B) of Indian Railway.

6.5 The Rotary coupler design must be such that they generally do not require any
maintenance/attention for a period of six year in Indian climatic condition.

7.0 MARKING:

7.1 All coupler components should have clear and legible manufacturers' name in
short code and batch No. etc., which shall remain legible throughout the entire
service period as specified in firm’s Drawing. Knuckle shall have the markings
"for manufacturer’s name, serial number, month & year of manufacture etc. as
shown in firm’s Drawing.

7.2 The letter size and height of the raised letter shall be legible and clear. The
marking shall be done at the casting stage itself. The manufacturer will not be
permitted to provide manufacturer's code and marking by electric arc welding.

7.3 New coupler components found having illegible marking at the time of fitment in
Railway Workshops, Maintenance depot or on Wagon Builders premises shall
be treated as rejected and shall be replaced by the manufacturers at their own
cost including cost of transportation.
 Specification No. 60-BD-97
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8.0 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS:-

8.1 CLIMATIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

Rotary Couplers shall be suitable for operation under climatic and environmental
conditions prevalent on Indian Railways, as under: -

8.1 Ambient conditions

8.1.1 Max. Temperature in sun. - 70 degree C

8.1.2 Max. Temperature in shade - 45 degree C

8.1.3 Min. temperature in night - -5 degree C

8.1.4 Humidity - 100% saturation during rainy season.

8.1.5 Rainfall - Fairly heavy.

8.1.6 Environment Dusty during hot weather, saline in coastal areas

8.2 Max. Curvature of track - 175m

8.3 Max. Gradient - 1 in 37

8.4 Max. Operating speed - 120 km/h

8.5 Normal shunting speed - 10 km/h

8.6 Freight stock is fitted with single pipe/twin pipe graduated release compressed
air brake system.

8.7 Maximum variation of height of Coupler of empty wagon and fully loaded
Wagon- 75mm

8.8 For curving test on Couplers, drawings of BOXNS wagons are attached.

9.0 MAINTENANCE:

As per Indian Railways maintenance schedule the wagons are examined and
maintained at following intervals: -

9.1 In primary maintenance depot after every 18/24 months.

9.2 In workshops after every 6 years.

9.3 The tenderer shall submit examination/maintenance requirements of Rotary

coupler matching with the wagons examination schedule

9.4 Complete details on maintenance practices to be followed for maintaining the

 Specification No. 60-BD-97
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Rotary Couplers being offered against this specification will, inter alia, cover the
following:

a) Maintenance standards including clearances and tolerances for various

components / sub-assemblies.

b) Inspection procedures and periodicity of various inspection schedules including

gauging practices.

c) The work content of each inspection schedule shall also be indicated.

d) Maintenance procedures.

9.5 Tenderer/Contractor shall make recommendations suggesting scale of spares to

be provided for holding each 100 couplers for period of six years. Price
proposals for these spares shall also be submitted with the offer separately, if
required. The Contractor shall supply all the spare parts required for
maintenance of couplers against specific requirements of Railways. In case of
failure, their registration is liable to be cancelled.

9.6 Tenderer/Contractor shall also submit list along with technical specification (for
procurement purpose) of all special purpose tools, gauges and
testing/measuring equipment’s required for examination, repair and
overhauling/reconditioning as new of the coupler in Indian Railway primary
maintenance depot and workshops. Price proposal for these tools, gauges
and testing/measuring equipment shall also be submitted with the offer
separately.

10. QUALIFYING REQUIREMENTS:

(a) If the tenderer has collaboration with global manufacturer:

 The Collaborator should have the unconditional approval of the AAR for
manufacture of the Rotary Couplers and its components as per this specification.
The tenderer will have to produce adequate evidence from their collaborator in
support of supply of minimum of 2000 Rotary Couplers in last two calendar years
and adequate experience in manufacture and supply of Rotary Coupler for Rail
Road application.
 The tenderer shall submit following documents –

(i) Copy of approval certificates issued to their collaborator by AAR for

Rotary Coupler.
(ii) Copy of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for manufacture of Rotary
coupler, jointly signed by the tenderer and collaborator.
(iii) List of past supplies made by their collaborator to different railroads along
with specifications followed for manufacture and supply of Rotary
Coupler.
 Specification No. 60-BD-97
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(iv) Detailed drawing and QAP of the Rotary Coupler for approval of RDSO.

 He has a well-equipped Foundry with requisite heat treatment facilities, a sound

R&D back-up and that he has adequate technical knowledge and practical
experience.
 He has adequate plant and manufacturing capacity to manufacture and supply the
items offered within the delivery schedule offered by him.

 He has an established quality control system and organisation to ensure that there
is adequate control at all stages of the manufacturing process.

 In addition to the above, further information regarding his capacity/capability, if

required by RDSO shall be promptly furnished by the Tenderer.

(b) INDIGENISATION OF ROTARY COUPLER COMPONENTS :

The tenderer will be permitted to import Rotary Couplers up to a period of two years
and within that period they have to indigenise the manufacture of Rotary Couplers.

The following procedure would be followed for clearing indigenisation of Rotary

Coupler -
(i) The tenderer will obtain drawings/specifications, know-how of manufacturing
processes/manufacturing tolerances from Rotary Coupler manufacturer /
Collaborator and set up necessary machinery and plant to undertake
manufacturing of the component proposed for indigenization. The Rotary
Coupler manufacturer / Collaborator will submit a certificate that the facilities
set up are adequate for manufacture of the component to its standard.

(ii) On successful development of the component, the component manufacturer

/ tenderer will develop full testing and inspection facilities to test the
components for mass production of the component and furnish details
thereof to RDSO. Mass production of the component should normally be
started after these facilities have been developed.

(iii) On being satisfied about adequacy of the testing/inspection procedures as

prescribed by the Rotary Coupler manufacturer / Collaborator, RDSO shall
approve manufacture of the components for use on Indian Railways.

(iv) The field experience gained with such Rotary Coupler will be reviewed by
RDSO at the time of 1st ROH or earlier in case of excessive failures to
assess the actual performance of the Rotary Coupler and the desirability of
continuing indigenous manufacture.
 Specification No. 60-BD-97
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(v) All intended indigenisation must be completed before the expiry of the
collaboration agreement so that within the pendency of the collaboration
unconditional license to manufacturers can be granted. Should the
indigenisation not be completed in this manner, the manufacturer will seek
extension of collaboration.

(c) If the tenderer has its own design:

The Tenderer shall provide satisfactory evidence to show that:

(i) The Tenderer has the unconditional approval of the AAR for manufacture of
the Rotary Couplers and its components as per this specification.

(ii) He has a well-equipped Foundry with requisite heat treatment facilities, a

sound R&D back-up and that he regularly manufactures the items offered and
has adequate technical knowledge and practical experience.

(iii) He has adequate plant and manufacturing capacity to manufacture and supply
the items offered within the delivery schedule offered by him.

(iv) He has an established quality control system and organisation to ensure that
there is adequate control at all stages of the manufacturing process.

In addition to the above, further information regarding his capacity/capability, if

required by RDSO shall be promptly furnished by the Tenderer.

10.1 Tenderer not submitting the requisite information may note that his offer is liable
to be ignored.

10.2 Before commencing manufacturing of Rotary Couplers, the tenderer should put
up three full set of Rotary coupler drawings and gauging scheme drawings to the
Director General (Wagon), Research Designs and Standards Organisation,
Lucknow-226011 India for approval. The drawings shall also indicate the
markings on components of Rotary coupler. The markings on components shall
be legible and indicate manufacturer's name, month & year of manufacture also.

10.3 The tenderer shall supply Rotary coupler fitment drawings on IR wagons along
with fitment procedure.

10.4 The tenderer shall be responsible for solving the fitment and operational problems
found, if any.

10.5 The tenderer shall provide training to Indian Railway officials free of cost to cover
aspects related to fitment and maintenance of rotary couplers on wagons.

11.0 SUBMISSION OF OFFER:

The offer shall be submitted in three copies. It shall, inter alia, consist of –
 Specification No. 60-BD-97
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a) All technical details required to be submitted by the tenderer as asked for in this
specification.

11.1 Tenderer shall offer clause-by-clause comments on this specification conforming

compliance with the clause and elaborating wherever necessary. In case there
are any deviations, complete details of alternate proposals against the clause
shall be given.

11.4 English translation of standard quoted and other documents shall be submitted
with the offer, in case original standards and other documents are in any other
language.

11.5 Offers which are incomplete in any respect are liable to be ignored.

11.6 Life achieved of components subjected to wear under operating conditions

prevalent in tenderer’s country shall be submitted with the offer.

12.0 INSPECTION FOR REGULAR SUPPLY

12.1 The inspection of Rotary couplers shall be done by authorised representative of

Director General RDSO at place of manufacture.

12.2 Inspection of all the items shall be carried out as per firm’s approved QAP having
inspection procedure and check sheets.

12.3 All Rotary Couplers and its components shall be interchangeable and shall be
checked during inspection.

13. Guarantee

The tenderer shall at his expense, replace the couplers and opponents failing
or proving unsatisfied in service attributed to defective/faulty material or poor
workmanship within a period of 72 months from the date of manufacturing or 60
months after date of fitment, whichever is earlier.
 Specification No. 60-BD-97
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Annexure-A
DETAILS OF COUPLER & DRAFT GEAR BEING USED BY IR AT PRESENT

1. Coupler body with shank wear plate welded as shown in drawing No.
SK-62724.
a) E type head and F shank
b) Material specification:- AAR M-201 Grade E and M-211
c) Maximum permanent set of 0.76 mm at a load of 317.5tonnes
d) Minimum Ultimate tensile Strength – 408 t
e) Dimensions are as shown in drawing No. SK-62724 (item-1)

2. Knuckle
a) Generally AAR catalog NO. E50AE
b) Material specification – AAR M-201 Grade E and M-211.
c) Maximum permanent set of 0.76 mm at a load of 181.5 tonnes
d) Minimum Ultimate Tensile Strength - 295tonne
e) Dimensions are as shown in drawing No. SK-62724 (Item-2).

d) Lock
a) Generally to AAR catalog No. E40AE
b) Material specification : AAR M-201 Grade E and M-211
c) Dimensions are as shown in drawing No. SK-62724(Item-8)

e) Yoke
a) Generally to AAR catalog No. A45AE
b) Material specification : AAR M-201 Grade E, M-205 and M-211
c) Maximum permanent set of 0.76 mm at a load of 340 tonnes
d) Minimum Ultimate Tensile Strength - 408 tonne
e) Dimensions are as shown in drawing No. SK-62724(Item-3)

f) Knuckle Thrower
a) Generally to AAR catalog No. E30 type
b) Material specification: Cast steel to AAR M-201 Grade B or Forge Steel
to IS:1875 Cl.2 and IS:2004.
c) Dimensions are as shown in drawing No. SK-62724(Item-9)

g) Knuckle pivot pin with washer

a) Material specification : S:5517 42 Cr4Mo2 & IS:2062 Fe 410 –WA
b) Dimensions and securing arrangement as shown in drawing No. SK-
62724 (Item-4).

h) Yoke pin
a) Material specification : AAR M-118 or IS: 1875 Cl.5 and IS:2004
b) Dimensions are as shown in drawing No. SK-62724 (Item-12)

i) Draft Gear front follower

a) Generally AAR standard S-119-92 & catalog No. Y46
b) Material specification - AAR M-201 Grade-E & M-211
 Specification No. 60-BD-97
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j) Articulated lock lift assembly consisting of hook, connector toggle and
pivots etc.
a) Generally AAR catalog No. E24B.
b) Material specification : Cast steel to AAR M-201 Grade B or forge Steel
to IS:1875 Cl.2 and IS:2004 and IS:2002 Fe 410WA.
c) Dimensions are as shown in drawing No. SK-62724 (Item-7, 6,5, 16 &
17)
Note: 1) Connector (Item-6) or lock lift assembly is suitable for fitment of uncoupling
gear either on guard arm side or knuckle side of coupler body.
2) Draft Gears is as per Spec. WD-71-BD-15 (Latest) confirming to AAR
specification M-901E.
 Specification No. 60-BD-97
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ANNEXURE-B

Requirement of Rotary coupler for Wagon

1. Wagon : BOXNS

2. Axle load : 25 tonnes

3. Wagon gross load : 100 t

4. Train load : Present Load – 5900 t (May be extended to

11800 tonnes & 17700 tonnes)

5. Grade : 1 in 37 max.

6. Speed (maximum) : 100/100 kmph

7. Curve : 175m

8. Brake percentage : Empty - 42.06%

: Loadd - 14.27%
9. Brake type : Tread brake system with K Type

10. Normal shunting speed : 10 kmph

11. Specific starting resistance in level and plain track of
BOXN wagons : Empty - 2.19 kg/1000 kg
Loaded - 1.55 kg/1000 kg
12. General equation for specific tractive resistance in level
and plain track of BOXNS wagons in (kg/1000kg.)

Empty R = 1.333973+0.021 983V +0.000242V²

Loaded R = 0.6438797+ 0.01047219V+ 0.00007323V²
* V (speed) is in kmph.

13. Coupler height from Rail level : Empty - 1105 mm

Loaded - 1030 mm
14. Wheel dia. : New - 840 mm
Condemning - 780 mm
15. Intermediate Examination : Not before 24 months.
16. Articulation : To meet curve requirement as above.
17. The rotary coupler shall be suitable for fitment in existing pocket of wagons.
18. Overall length of wagons with coupler should remain same as given in diagram of
wagons attached with this specification.
19. Lock lift assembly of coupler shall be provided with anti-rotation/anti creep
arrangement to prevent undesirable opening of knuckles arrangement to prevent
undesirable opening of knuckles and train partings. The arrangement shall be
explained in the offer.