Sealdah division has kicked off the work of modification of the ballast-less tracks at platform number five while aiming to complete the task within 20 days.
According to the divisional railway manager of Sealdah, Deepak Nigam, the tracks are generally laid on ballast with pieces of concrete. However, platform number five of Dum Dum station has tracks that are ballast-less and are laid on concrete slabs like those in the city Metro. The tracks have bearing plates with bolts. The tracks are fixed through these bolts. With time and the movement of trains, these bolts become loose and are tightened during regular maintenance works.
Notably, an incident of derailment had taken place at the same platform in September last year. A coach of an EMU local had derailed and the gauge of the tracks was found to be more than that of a standard gauge. A closer observation revealed that the holes where bolts are fixed had become broader and its dimensions were adversely affected. Due to this, the divisional railway had to do frequent maintenance of the bolts. “Despite frequent maintenance of the bolts, there was always a fear hovering about the gauge spreading out due to the bolts becoming loose. To solve the problem, an overhaul of the tracks was required for which we have taken a block of 20 days,” informed Mr Nigam during an inspection of the tracks at platform five of the station this morning.
For the modification works, the division has decided to regulate and cancel a few trains due to the required power and traffic block. During the block period from 18 April to 7 May, about 27 local trains are to be cancelled while a few more would be regulated by the division.
According to the DRM, the overhauling work is of a large magnitude including changing of the tracks along with the entire fixing arrangements. The division has deployed around 50-60 labourers working day and night on war footing to complete the task. “The work would take time to complete but we are putting efforts to do it before the stipulated time,” he added.