Railway Board Types Committee To Deal with Pamban Bridge Security Issues
Pamban Bridge Security Issues: In a bid to make sure the continued security and reliability of one in every of India’s most iconic rail buildings, the Railway Board has established a devoted committee to handle the issues raised by the Commissioner of Railway Security (CRS) relating to the Pamban Bridge. The five-member technical committee will likely be headed by RK Goel, PED (Bridge), Railway Board. The committee will embrace the PED of RDSO, the Chief Bridge Engineer of Southern Railway, the Director of RVNL, and an impartial security skilled.
This transfer comes after a report from the Commissioner of Railway Security (CRS highlighted issues concerning the structural integrity and security requirements of the bridge, which connects the southern tip of India to the remainder of the nation.
In its report, the CRS famous a number of lapses within the planning of the bridge. It identified that the elevate span girder was non-RDSO normal and designed utilizing international codes, which required RDSO’s involvement within the venture. Nevertheless, a assessment of the data confirmed that, with the help of the Railway Board, RDSO had uncared for its duty in designing the girder.
The CRS report additionally flagged that for vital bridge initiatives like this, a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) is often shaped. Nevertheless, because of the choice to exclude RDSO from the venture, this step was not adopted within the case of the Pamban Bridge.
The CRS report acknowledged that RDSO’s dissociation from the venture resulted in critical penalties, together with deviations from normal tips.
In response, the Ministry of Railways clarified that the Pamban Bridge is a 2.05 km lengthy construction with a singular 72-meter Vertical Carry span, one in every of its sort within the nation. The design of the bridge was carried out by TYPSA, a global advisor, utilizing European and Indian codes. The design was proof-checked by IIT, Chennai.
On condition that the bridge was designed by a international advisor, the Railway Board acknowledged technical limitations within the design examination by Railways and RDSO. Because of this, the Railway Board determined to have the design proof-checked by IIT, Mumbai. After the double-proof test, the design was accepted by Southern Railway.
The bridge has been constructed based mostly on a design by a reputed worldwide advisor and has undergone rigorous proof-checking by two of the nation’s main institutes. Modifications to the RDSO design for the strategy girders to accommodate native constraints have additionally been proof-checked by IIT Madras and IIT Bombay, and accepted by Southern Railway.
Moreover, the welding of structural members, which is essential for the bridge’s efficacy, has been 100 per cent inspected utilizing the most recent Part Array Ultrasonic Testing and checked by the Welding Analysis Institute, Trichy, with ultimate check checks performed by Southern Railway.
For corrosion safety, the bridge employs a particular portray scheme utilized in extraordinarily corrosion-prone areas worldwide, using polysiloxane paint with a design lifetime of 35 years. Stainless-steel reinforcement in strengthened concrete building, totally welded field sections within the elevate span, the elimination of splice joints within the strategy span girders, FRP pathways, and enhanced inspection preparations and handrails are a few of the revolutionary options included to forestall corrosion.
The Ministry confirmed that the bridge has been constructed utilizing state-of-the-art design and greatest building practices. It has been cleared for operation by the Commissioner of Railway Security. Nevertheless, the Ministry acknowledged that it’s going to comply totally with any additional issues raised by the CRS. The five-member committee has been tasked with evaluating these issues intimately and recommending obligatory actions to additional improve the bridge’s security.
