Category: Railways

Nagpur:- The lockdown came as a disguised blessing for South East Central Railway’s Nagpur Division (SECR) with the engineering department carrying out over 1,200 km of track maintenance over the past month.

The Division carried out track works with different machines from March 24 to May 4, from Itwari to Durg. “We’ve done simple track tamping with different track machines for 415 km. It required alignment correction and correction of longitudinal and cross-levels, in addition to packaging under the sleepers, “SECR officials said. They added that the tamping of turnout had also been achieved.

Machines, particularly at the crossing section, were also used to achieve a proper level. “We did 138 km of ballast profiling and 92 km of work on track stabilization. We also lifted 5,051 pieces of rails and sleepers from the section and with the help of machines, stacked them at the right spot, “they said.

“Due to the constant flow of mail/express trains, it is difficult to get blocks for various works over the daily course of time. Yet we’ve got 90% capacity to complete these works because of the lockdown, “SECR officials said.

Normal rails and welds have been removed and these defects are now free of the Nagpur division. In addition to removing dilapidated channel sleepers and replacing defective glued joints, the trackmen also renewed CMS crossings and ballast were trained.

Recently the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MahaMetro) announced that the Nagpur Metro project was completed in a record 27-month period. This isn’t the only feather in his hat. The Nagpur Metro is considered India’s greenest subway network. No doubt the Nagpur Metro project is the ideal model for megaprojects in India and around the world. What lessons may we learn, then?

Factors that have contributed to the project’s success: 

1. Effectiveness of stakeholder consultation: This is the first and last of a public infrastructure project. Making space for the public’s position to ensure progress is important. The contact between the project leaders and the public should be clear from the conceptualization point. The public should consider the proposals, their advantages, and the possible challenges they may face during the construction process. No project of this magnitude is unproblematic. A crucial benefit would be to get the public in the corner of the project as the unavoidable issues arise. That dimension was one of the Nagpur Metro project’s most important characteristics.

2. Usage of technology: Nagpur Metro used BIM’s power to make the metro construction safer, quicker, and qualitatively better. This helped the team prepare better, with resource management being more effective, communicating better, and avoiding avoidable collisions and rework. That was essential to delivering a quick, effective, and on-budget project.

BIM was not only accessible and useful during construction but will also play an equally important role in the project’s operation & maintenance process. It’s effectively solved the project’s huge task of record management. The Nagpur Metro project is India’s first such attempt to implement the 5D BIM technology by integrating ERP with BIM as well as various world-class project management applications. The BIM platform’s single source of truth helped the entire Nagpur Metro rail project team to get the right data at the right time for successful decision taking.

3. Comprehensive tracking and monitoring: There is never a shortage of projects of this scale for the participation of specialists with expertise in railway and other subway projects. The question has always been how best to exploit their expertise? How to ensure their knowledge is invoked only when the highest impact is likely? This is where BIM assisted by offering straightforward insight into the project managers into the project’s real-time status at all times. 

There was planned daily monitoring of the work performed by consultants and staff. This provided good visibility of possible problems in time for action to minimize their effect. Before the issue got out of control, professional support could be proactively called in to provide solutions or workarounds. It also allowed all the parties concerned to communicate the problems and the solutions well in time. This also helped to ‘bridge the contact gap and speed up the tasks.

The metro at Nagpur is a perfect example of price, performance, performance, and speed. With the use of internationally proven emerging technology, the latest methods and techniques in building, green initiatives, and the enthusiasm and expertise of its employees, it has accomplished that. Nagpur Metro Rail Project with many creative and unique features was planned, constructed, and executed.

1. A multi-layered subway project: Nagpur Metro is a multilayered subway with the first four-layer transportation network in India. In a similar vertical area, the continuous and continuing construction of the flyovers, roads, highways, and the subway is coming up. When finished, the three- and four-layer transportation system would be a modern marvel.

2. Greenest Metro in India: Green approaches used to build Nagpur Metro make it India’s greenest Metro. 65% of the Nagpur Metro project’s energy requirements are met by solar panels connected to the underground rail rooftop, depot boundary walls, platforms, sheds, etc. The electricity generated from the device is also applied back to the grid, and local sources are used to produce the power needed. The project recycles every single drop of water that it uses, too.

3. Fastest completed project: Nagpur Metro project is the project of its kind with the fastest completion. The groundwork for the project was laid in 2015, and the trial runs took place in just 27 months. This is a rate without precedent for such a huge project.

4. Ratings: The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) has planned and designed all stations, administrative buildings, and depots to achieve full ranking. All Green Standards for energy & water conservation, improved comfort, wastewater management, and 100% waste at source segregation are being enforced and observed.

The project has impressive sustainability and economic features built into it right from the start. And this is maybe the greatest lesson from which to learn. There’s no mistake attaining laureles. They have to be prepared for, the information pored over and then, with much effort and coordination, turned into practice. I am honored to have been part of the path-breaking project. And I don’t think I’m ever going to tire of saying that!