This was only one incident in a string of failures within the braking system for items trains, The Indian Express has learnt.

In numerous memorandums submitted to the Railways, sources stated, loco pilots have flagged over 80 instances of products trains leaping indicators over the previous one 12 months no less than due to an erratic brakes system — the Bogie Mounted Brake System (BMBS).

The website the place a items practice was derailed at Korei station in Odisha on Monday morning.
(Express Photo)

These pink flags come at a time when the Railways is shifting to ramp up freight operations. The Dhanbad incident alone led to visitors on the Delhi–Mumbai fundamental route being held up for about 24 hours.

In August, a letter despatched by the Railways’ design arm, Research, Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), to all General Managers cited an inside report of a committee fashioned to probe the difficulty, and warned of “a known deficiency” within the BMBS.

Last Friday, an affiliation of Chief Loco Inspectors held a day-long workshop in Delhi to debate the “braking issue” and “mission zero SPAD” (Signal Passed at Danger). “Around 86 cases of SPAD due to BMBS were reported over the past year up to April 2022,” V Ok Jain, of the Chief Loco Inspectors’ collective physique that performed the workshop, informed The Indian Express.

“Around 90,000 wagons have been fitted with this braking system. Our aim is to figure out how to operate these safely and work out a solution for a safer Indian Railways. That’s why the workshop was conducted,” he stated. Loco pilots failing to stick to a sign or leaping a sign is a grave offence, even resulting in dismissal from the job.

When contacted, a prime official acknowledged the issue however stated the variety of SPAD incidents linked to BMBS failure was a lot decrease, and never as claimed by loco pilots.

The BMBS is used solely in items trains, which require considerably extra braking energy and the place the brakes are utilized on the wheels of wagons. Passenger trains primarily use disc brakes, the place energy is utilized on discs. But officers identified that items trains take the identical path as passenger trains. A items practice with an erratic braking system, working behind or forward of a passenger practice, poses hazard to each, they stated.

Incidentally, on Monday morning, no less than two individuals had been killed after eight wagons of a items practice derailed and crashed into the waiting hall at the Korei station in Odisha’s Jajpur district. The explanation for the accident is but to be ascertained.

In the case of the Dhanbad incident final month, the Shalimar Express was forward on the identical line as the products practice, however at a secure distance, officers stated. “A passenger train’s behaviour cannot be predicted all the time. For instance, the alarm chain could be pulled, stopping the train suddenly. So there is definitely a safety risk,” stated the highest official.

Sources, in the meantime, pointed to different incidents linked to the braking system. In December final 12 months, a coal-laden items practice collided with an empty items rake head on a slope close to Kurkura in Ranchi division, they stated. In March this 12 months, a items practice rammed into one other from behind in Jamgaon, they stated.

The Railways is engaged on resolving the difficulty, it’s learnt. According to sources, technical groups from the German firm Knorr-Bremse, which manufactures these brakes, have been pressed into service. The Rail Ministry has additionally withheld funds as a result of firm, the sources stated. But an answer has proved elusive, thus far.

Introduced over a decade in the past, BMBS is an equipment through which braking cylinders are connected to the bogie — the trolley that connects the 2 wheels. Each wagon has two trolleys. While conventional techniques had round 72 shifting components concerned within the braking course of, BMBS reduces the quantity to round 40. The purpose is to extend reliability and security, and cut back upkeep wants.

The Railway Board didn’t reply to queries from The Indian Express on the braking system. Top officers coping with the difficulty stated that whereas the system is in use for over a decade now, the freight inventory is being pushed for higher speeds and sooner turnaround instances. “So the problem has to be related to either the latest batch of equipment supplied or with maintenance of these wagons,” an official stated.

According to officers, there are two distributors supplying this know-how to the Railways: KBIPL (Knorr-Bremse India Pvt Ltd), the Indian arm of the German brake tools producer, and Escorts Ltd.

The RDSO letter of August stated: “…it has been pointed out that there is a known deficiency in BMBS supplied by M/S KBIPL of lesser brake force and inconsistent braking distances.”

In an emailed response to The Indian Express, a KBIPL spokesperson stated: “Our products fully comply with all in-country and international requirements. In fact, they have been running successfully in Indian Railways’ freight train fleets for more than a decade since they had been initially introduced. Our brakes are not at fault in the alleged unexplainable behaviour in train brake operation. In a spirit of cooperation, Knorr-Bremse has been maintaining an intensive dialogue with Indian Railways over months as part of our ongoing efforts to help.”

The RDSO letter, in the meantime, signifies that dismantling the system is just not an choice. “Reducing speeds will mitigate risks as it is not feasible to stop all wagons fitted with BMBS…,” it acknowledged.

Accordingly, it was really helpful that loaded wagons in slopes or on downward gradients be run at a diminished velocity of fifty kmph of prime velocity and 65 kmph on stage tracks. And items trains on Dedicated Freight Corridors, which don’t have any passenger trains working on them, can contact a prime velocity of 80 kmph.