Railways Joint Team To Reduce Mechanical Failures For Ensuring Train Safety & Delay

By Chanchal Mukherjee

New Delhi: With an aim of ensuring a smoother and more reliable journey for passengers, the railway has formed a joint team comprising the Commercial, Operating, Mechanical, and Electrical departments. This initiative focuses on proactively identifying and addressing wagon-related issues, reducing mechanical failures, and ensuring safe and efficient train movement.

As per the railways, it has often been observed that technical snags in wagon trains disrupt operations, forcing passenger trains running behind them to wait for clearance of the same route for further proceed or be diverted to alternative routes, which causes avoidable delays and inconvenience to passengers. This team will minimise the disruptions and enhance overall service reliability.

Several incidents have been reported by various zonal railways involving damage to grease seals in wagons, particularly in open wagons. These damages are mainly caused by tarpaulin covers, nylon ropes, wire, and other loose materials becoming entangled with the axle box area during train movement. Such incidents can result in mechanical failures and wagon detentions, leading to operational disruptions. More importantly, they pose potential safety risks, affecting the reliability of wagon operations and the safe movement of trains, with a direct impact on passenger services and overall rail safety.

Addressing these seemingly small but significant issues is essential to ensuring smooth operations and maintaining the high safety standards of the railways, the railways stated.

Explaining the wider impact of this issue, Ram Sharan, Central President of All India Loco Running Staff Association, told ETV Barat, “Even seemingly insignificant objects can have serious operational consequences. Small items like ropes or loose materials often create technical snags in wagons, disrupting the movement of trains running behind them. As a result, several trains get unnecessarily delayed while waiting for clearance or being diverted to alternate routes.”

“Most trains operate on designated UP and Down lines. If a wagon develops a snag for any reason and has to be stopped, the entire section gets blocked. This affects all following train movements, whether Passenger, Express or Mail trains, leading to cascading delays across the network,” he added.

The team clearly lays down the responsibilities and procedural actions to be followed by all concerned departments at both loading and unloading points. A key focus of these guidelines is preventive care, ensuring that wagons are securely and properly covered with tarpaulins and that no loose or hanging covers, ropes, wires, or other materials are left behind after loading or unloading. By addressing these details at the source, the railways aim to prevent avoidable technical snags and ensure safety, more reliable train operations, the railways said.

Drawing attention to the issue, Tapas Chattaraj, Zonal Advisor in All India Guards’ Council, told ETV Bharat, “There is a clear operational norm in place. If any fault is detected, the train is moved to a siding so that it does not affect other train operations. However, if a train develops a fault and halts mid-section, it leads to delays in the movement of other trains. Whenever such an incident occurs, a detailed investigation is initiated to determine why the fault was not detected earlier and to identify the root cause of the incident. On this basis, the railways take disciplinary action against the concerned person.”

Chief Goods Supervisor and Station Superintendents at the originating loading points or sidings are responsible for preparing a monthly report on instances of improperly secured tarpaulins. The report should also include details of detention charges raised and realized. This report is to be submitted to the office of the Senior DCM for record-keeping. To ensure accuracy, Sectional Commercial Inspections will cross-check these reports and verify the findings, the railway official said

As per the railways, at locations where concerned staff are not available for rake inspections, the onus falls on the crew and guard (TMR) to carefully check for unsecured tarpaulins or hanging materials during the post-loading or unloading inspection. Any discrepancies they identify must be promptly reported to the concerned Station master, Yard Master, or Chief Goods Supervisor, ensuring that safety and operational standards are maintained even in the absence of dedicated staff.

Technological Improvement

Technological advancements in the railways are a continuous journey, as part of this, pilot initiatives using Artificial Intelligence for predictive maintenance are underway at selected stations. One such initiative focuses on AI-driven predictive maintenance of the signalling system, aimed at evaluating its effectiveness in real-world operations. The trials are expected to generate measurable outcomes, including standardized failure prediction logics and alert mechanisms, which will be refined based on the results from these stations, as per Rajya Sabha data.

Online Monitoring Of OMRs

Railways have been steadily adopting advanced technologies for predictive maintenance of rolling stock. Systems like the Online Monitoring of Rolling Stock (OMRS) and the Wheel Impact Load Detector (WILD) are already in use to ensure timely detection of faults. In a further step toward innovation, an MoU was signed in July 2025 between Indian Railways and the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) to introduce a wayside Machine Vision-based Inspection System. This AI and ML-driven system is designed to detect hanging parts or missing components on moving trains, enhancing safety and operational reliability, it stated.

Automatic Wheel Profile Measurement System

Railways has signed an MoU with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to introduce the Automatic Wheel Profile Measurement System. This system enables automatic, non-contact measurement of train wheel profiles, providing real-time data on wheel geometry and wear. The design of rolling stock inherently incorporates multiple safety provisions. In addition, continuous modifications and upgrades are being carried out across the Railways to further enhance fire safety and overall passenger protection, it added.