Distress condition of Indian Railway Bridges

Distress condition of Indian Railway Bridges

Distress condition of railway bridges in Maharashtra

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
RAJYA SABHA

QUESTION NO 120

ANSWERED ON 15.12.2017

Distress condition of railway bridges in Maharashtra

120 Smt. Rajani Patil
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state :-
(a) how many railway bridges in Maharashtra are in distress condition;

(b) whether Government has taken any action to replace them; and

(c) if so, the amount of funds provided for replacement of these bridges during the last two years in order to save the lives of people?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 120 BY SHRIMATI RAJANI PATIL ANSWERED IN RAJYA SABHA ON 15.12.2017 REGARDING DISTRESS CONDITION OF RAILWAY BRIDGES IN MAHARASHTRA.

(a) to (c): There is a well established system of inspection of bridges on Indian Railways. All the bridges are inspected twice a year, one before the onset of monsoon and one detailed inspection after the monsoon. In addition, certain bridges are also inspected more frequently depending upon their condition. Repair / strengthening / rehabilitation / rebuilding of railway bridges is a continuous process and is undertaken whenever so warranted by their physical condition as ascertained during these inspections and not on the basis of age. If the corrective / remedial measures are expected to take a long duration due to the complexity of the site situation, etc., suitable safety measures like imposing speed restrictions and keeping such bridge under close watch are taken till the bridge is repaired / strengthened / rehabilitated / rebuilt. All bridges are safe for train movement at permitted speed.

The information on bridges is maintained Zone–wise and not State–wise. Maharashtra is covered under Central Railway, South Central Railway, South East Central Railway, South Western Railway and Western Railway.

There is no Distress Bridge in Maharashtra. However, as on 01.04.2017, a total of 891 bridges in the above five zones have been sanctioned for repair / strengthening / rehabilitation / rebuilding. Funds of Rs.106.50 Crore and Rs.118.36 Crore were allocated for repair / strengthening / rehabilitation / rebuilding of bridges in the above five zones for the financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17 respectively.