INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT IN

TECHNOLOGY

Volume-6, Issue-5 (Dec-16)

ISSN (O) :- 2349-3585

Advanced Operational Maintenance of High Speed Train

with Heavy Haul Manufacturing Technology, Materials
Planning
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Shripad Shashikant Chopade1
1

M Tech (Machine Design & Robotics), UPSC (IES), IRSME (R&D), Government of India, Ph.D Research Scholar, India

ABSTRACT: Many more challenges of Indian Railway

In Indian Railway Organization maximum speed of passenger

engineers, IITians and JICA/Sinkansen. It is very difficult

trains would be raised from 110 or 150 to 160-200 kmph at the

but not impossible. The Indian Railways has to operate and

same time maximum speed of freight trains would be raised

maintain a vast array of engineering assets such as Rolling

from 60-70 kmph to over 100 kmph. This would require an

Stock, Over Head Equipment (OHE) and Track, Structures,

array of rolling stock design aspects to be addressed such as,

Bridges, Signaling equipments which is critical for safe,

aerodynamic design of rolling stock, static and dynamic

Material planning, Efficient and Reliable Operation of the

analysis of railway bridges, vehicle dynamics, vibration and

Railways.

noise control, advanced control of electric loco drives etc. To

maintenance,

enable some of the advanced technological products to be

Aerodynamic, High speed railway corridor, Heavy Haul

developed, new material research is considered to be essential.

manufacturing technology, High speed train technology,

New materials are based on new steel, rubbers, steel-polymer

Materials planning, Maximum operating speed, Vehicle

composites, polymers, ceramics etc. Similarly advanced

system dynamics and service reliability.

manufacturing techniques that enhance the useful life of

Keywords:

Advance

operation

and

INTRODUCTION

components is also an important area.

Indian Railways has identified four trust areas for research

METHODOLOGY

High Speed Trains, developing Heavy Haul Capacity to carry

MAIN AREAS OF RESEARCH ON BULLET TRAIN

more freight, intelligent maintenance and use of advanced

High Speed Train

materials like polymers, rubbers etc. India is currently

Manufacturing Technology and Materials

considering two corridors for high speed trains while Japan is

Heavy Haul Technology

conducting feasibility study for bullet train project in the

Advanced Operational Maintenance

Mumbai-Ahmadabad Corridor. China will do the same for

HIGH SPEED TRAIN:

Delhi-Chennai Corridor. Operating out of a temporary set up,

IIT Researchers have already started working on suspension
and bogies technology for High Speed Trains.

Fig: 2 Modern High Speed Technologies

Aerodynamics becomes much more critical as speeds increase.
Fig 1: Bullet Train

Since air resistance rises geometrically with speed, "you can

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Paper Title:- Advanced Operational Maintenance of High Speed Train with Heavy Haul Manufacturing Technology,
Materials Planning
reduce the loads by going to good aerodynamic shape," "At 60

For an ever-expanding set of applications, "We are very open

mph, you can push a square box through the air with no

to the arrival of composite materials. Fast, safe, reliable and

problem. But the faster you go, the more attention you have to

comfortable high speed and very high speed trains are now

pay to aerodynamics."

rivaling air travel as an efficient means of transportation for

long distances. As a result, political decisions have been taken
and infrastructure investments made to boost train travel over
longer distances. Bombardier has been a key player in the
design and delivery of almost all high speed trains as well as
other significant international high speed projects, with an
impressive portfolio of over many products worldwide. In the

Fig: 3 Aerodynamics

past the main challenge was very high speed but nowadays

Aerodynamic detailing also is a must for the ventilation

criteria such as energy efficiency, high capacity, customized

system, which draws in outside air. Composites are the

comfort and ecological sensitivity are becoming increasingly

principal material for air inlets on high-speed trains because of

important. Thats why Bombardiers philosophy is to combine

the complex shapes and curvatures needed to alleviate noise.

proven design elements for optimum reliability, safety, low

"The treatment of the outside becomes very important because

energy consumption and ease of maintainability with the

of resonance, whistling noises. I do not have enough

opportunity to customize the interior layout for specific needs

experience with composites to guarantee this when the

of each operator. Most High Speed Trains get electricity from

vehicle's primary structure." I also points to lack of data on the

overhead wires or catenaries using a pantograph. Todays

impact behavior of composites when struck with ballast at

batteries could never be sized to supply the power needed and

very high speed. "We know how well steel and aluminum

still fit on the train. Diesel engines turning generators is not

resist ballast spray, but not how well composites do." Train

considered environmentally friendly and the weight and

designers are always striving to make their trains more

storage of diesel fuel, along with fire safety, would pose other

aerodynamic. Thats because up to 60% of the tractive force

problems. Another option, using a shoe to take electricity from

can be lost due to drag and friction. Aerodynamics must also

a third rail, much like light rail, creates too much friction

make the train stable because as speeds increase, cross-wind

between the shoe and rail at high speeds.

stability decreases. Let us, concentrate on four basic areas

LOCOMOTIVES AND TRAIN SETS:

which are the lead car with its streamlined nose; spoilers atop
and beneath the cars, stowing and deploying the pantograph,
and fairings around the bogies, between cars and covering the
underside of the train. Fairings around the bogies also prevent
track ballast and debris from damaging the wheels and axles.
Through repeated efforts, cut drag by 25%, which yielded a
15% drop in energy use and reduced the wind force on the
lead car by enough to let them get rid of the 5 to 7 tons of dead
weight the trains carried for ballast and stability. All train
manufacturers

nevertheless

anticipate

growing

use

of

composites in the rail sector, especially as high-speed trains

compete effectively with air transportation. Composites
currently are used strictly on superstructure in trains, but

Fig: 4 Locomotives and Train Sets

High-Speed Trains dont follow the traditional rules of the
rails. Older trains still use one or two locomotives that contain

experimentation with primary structures may not be far off.

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Paper Title:- Advanced Operational Maintenance of High Speed Train with Heavy Haul Manufacturing Technology,
Materials Planning
all the traction motors and locomotives are positioned in the
front as a pair or the front and rear to better distribute the
tractive forces. Modern High Speed Trains, however, put
traction motors in almost every car for better force distribution
and a more-comfortable ride. Distributing power over more
axles also lets trains accelerate and decelerate faster. Thats
because the powered wheels relay on friction between the
wheels and rail to transmit power. Sending all the power to
only two or three axles, especially when starting out from a
dead stop, increases the likelihood that the power would
overcome the friction and spin the wheels. There are also
conditions, even with distributed power, when there is not
enough friction to get a large train rolling inclined. Ice or wet
leaves, for example can severely limit the frictional force and
cause wheels to slip. To overcome this, High Speed Trains
carry dry sand, just like their slower-speed cousins. It gets
dropped in front of powered wheels to increase frictional
forces. Spreading the tractive force between axles, mounting
the traction motors below the floors and eliminating the
locomotive can give Modern High Speed Trains 20% more
space for passengers in the same-length trains.

FIG: 5 Modern High Speed Train

The train set, which includes all the passenger cars, has a
driving car. It is the lead car and features a sloped,
aerodynamic nose and a relatively small compartment at the
front of it to accommodate a windshield the controls and
communication equipment as well as the driver, the only
person really needed to drive the train. The rest of the driving
car is outfitted for passengers.
MANUFACURING TECHNOLOGY AND MATERIALS
PLANNING:
High Speed Trains are made from materials that are common
to many types of vehicles. Aluminum is in airplanes and steel
is used in automobiles are common, but lightweight metals
such as titanium may also be present and Carbon fiber
components may also be used. Due to low density and higher
specific strength and rigidity than aluminum alloys and steels,
magnesium alloys could be used in railway vehicles with less
weight. Moreover, magnesium alloys have better capacity of
vibration reduction than aluminum alloys and steels.
Magnesium Alloys are new materials for High-Speed Train
with reduced vibration and noise. In these research paper
materials such as Mg honeycomb panels; Mg extruded profiles
and their final product as berth, ventilating windows. The
application of Mg alloys could produce weight, vibration and
noise reduction and improve running safety and higher energy
efficiency for High-Speed Train.

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Paper Title:- Advanced Operational Maintenance of High Speed Train with Heavy Haul Manufacturing Technology,
Materials Planning
HEAVY HAUL TECHNOLOGY:
The International Heavy Haul Association, IHHA, defines a
heavy haul railway as one that meets at least two of the
following criteria (International Heavy Haul Association,
1998).

Hauling at least 20-30 million tonnes per year over a

line haul segment comprising at least 250km in
length approximately.

Regular operation of trains of at least 5000-8000

tones approximately.

Regular operation of equipment with an axle loading

of 25-40 tones approximately.

Indian Railways is a member of International Heavy Haul

Association (IHHA) and can leverage that membership to
transfer knowledge and experience from other countries
involved in heavy haul operations. Since IR and the upcoming
DFCCIL infrastructure establish a position, that recognizes
and builds on the fundamental competitive advantages of the
rail mode, the development and research work for Heavy Haul
is extremely necessary for the way ahead. The strategy for
Heavy Haul operations should include cost effective solutions,
improvement in services and ensure enhancement of
productivity

of

the

infrastructure.

To

adopt

proven

international technologies and approaches for such Heavy

Haul systems for a dedicated freight corridors and its feeder
routes and to translate the Indian Railways Policy Statement
for long term development as enunciated in Vision 2020 of
IR stressing the need to reinvent freight services so as to start
reversing model share in favors of railways , further steps are
needed to evaluate the available road maps ahead, narrowing
the choices of technologies and systems, suiting the regional
requirements for each freight sector.

Fig: 6 Heavy Haul Technology

The Heavy Haul Research Development & Application
(HHRD&A) Program shall be oriented to develop system
parameters for Heavy-Haul Freight systems suitable for
Indias markets and circumstances and provide individual
specifications for key asset components infrastructure, motive
power, wagons and maintenance equipment of technologies in
the following areas:
Freight Traffic Operations: Train-load and train-lengths
and

infrastructure

marshalling

yards),

consequences
loading

(e.g.

gauge

(for

loop

lengths,

double-stack),

Signaling and communication systems, train dispatch system,

operating and maximum speed of loaded and empty trains,
train protection with guards, driving methods, special
operating rules and regulations, MIS, identification of routes
requiring

capacity

augmentation

in

planned

manner,

maintenance systems for track, wagons and locomotives that

ensure very high levels of reliability as well as availability.
Infrastructure: Track standards and design, grade and
curves, rail specifications and fastenings, switches, power
requirements and centenary, bridges, loading gauge (e.g. for
double-stack), track inspections, welding methods, rail
grinding; maintenance regimes etc.

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Paper Title:- Advanced Operational Maintenance of High Speed Train with Heavy Haul Manufacturing Technology,
Materials Planning
for procurement and administration of consultants to assist in
this task, according to Terms of Reference contained herein.
This TOR is for a suitable technically and managerially
qualified Consultant to help shape a long-term research and
development program for heavy-haul freight in India by
preparing a blue print to set up a heavy haul Institute to meet
objective of HHRD&A program. The Program must take
account of railway commercial and marketing imperatives so
as to ensure that the R&D program is rooted in the real
application needs and priorities of Indias industries and
Fig: 7 Railway Tracks
Rolling-Stock: Train mass and capability of progressive
increase axle-loads, motive power, wagon capacity and
design, draw-gear, high performance braking systems,
distributed motive power, hot box detectors, hanging part
detectors, wheel testing and management, rolling-stock
maintenance regimes, etc.
Power Supply and Energy Savings: Power supply system
if electrified with provision of increasing capacity to support
heavier trains and increase in throughput, energy efficiency
and carbon footprint; full fuel cycle analysis of the power
supply to reduce reliance on fossil fuels; technology
assessments for energy efficiency of freight operations,
methodologies to assess and certify of carbon savings.
Terminal Operations: Loading and unloading systems to
reduce terminal delays and minimize wagon turn round time,
required development parameters, equipment needs, Stations
and yards, gathering of loaded wagons and formation of trains,
modification of existing terminals, etc. To address all the key
issues involved in Indias adopting Heavy-Haul in a
comprehensive and integrated manner, including both existing
IR routes and DFC routes currently planned and all possible
future expansions, the IRB has formed a multi-divisional
committee (herein after referred to as the Heavy-Haul
Committee or HHC) including DFCCIL and IR officers,
convened by the EDPP and under the Chairmanship of the
Adviser. The development of commercial and marketing
strategies for heavy-haul rail will be within the oversight of
and steered by the HHC, while DFCCIL will be responsible

freight shippers.
OBJECTIVIES OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
The overall objective of the HHRD&A Program will be to
increase the technical capacity of Indias railways to
implement Heavy-Haul Freight initiatives that will improve
the safety, transport capacity, quality, competitiveness and
share of Indias rail freight transport services and to prepare
concrete proposals of an effective and cost efficient HeavyHaul Freight Research, and Capacity Development Program
including plans for establishment in India of a world class
Heavy-Haul Research Institute (HHRI). This should include
detailed program for development and research capabilities
identifying the major areas of the Heavy Haul Cost drivers viz
productivity enhancements through increased axle loads,
reduced wagon requirement, higher pay load to tare weight
ratio, energy saving technologies, reduced human resource
requirement & desired skill enhancements. To achieve the
above objective, the selected Consulting team will, in close
consultation with DFCCIL, prepare a programmed for setting
up of a world class Heavy Haul Research Institute and
Capacity Building in Heavy Haul Technologies by borrowing
through international experience.
SCOPE OF WORK:
To meet the needs of Indian Railway Board (IRB) and
DFCCIL, the consultant will carry out assessment of existing
technical capacities in Indian railways and DFCCIL,
especially with respective to heavy haul railways, capture
international technical expertise and institutions worldwide in
heavy haul railways and prepare a programmed for developing
similar capacity in India including for heavy haul institute,

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Paper Title:- Advanced Operational Maintenance of High Speed Train with Heavy Haul Manufacturing Technology,
Materials Planning
training and skill enhancement and other related infrastructure.

strategic vision, mission and objectives of the Institute,

The consultant will also prepare the required institutional

governance, locations including possible location within

arrangement, implementation schedule and broad cost

or co-location with an existing institution, possible

estimate. The potential activities that may be included in the

partnering or twinning arrangements with an international

HHRD&A Program shall be classified as follows:

institutes, organization and staffing structure, affiliations,

Implementation Plan For National Railway Heavy-Haul

scope of R&D activities, defining relationships and

Institute:

interfaces with stakeholders like Ministry of Railways,

i) A cost-effective proposal and specific implementation plan

RDSO, industry, other national and international research

for a world class Heavy-Haul Research Institute in India,

bodies etc, human resources policies, financing model for

which will be a pioneer institute in research and development

long term sustenance, facilities and costs, implementation

related to Heavy-Haul and will support Indias indigenous

schedule, milestones for decisions and actions etc.

research capacity.

ADVANCED OPERATIONAL MAINTENANCE:

Training:

Advanced Operational Maintenance is the main part of Indian

Programs for Indian Railway/DFCCIL staff to be involved in

Railways in case estimation purpose. Indian Railways Vs

Heavy-Haul Train Operation and Research.

Road Transport Indian Railways is an energy efficient mode

Twinning activities:

of Transportation in our country. Energy consumed by

Establishment long-term learning and supporting relationships

railways is one sixth of corresponding energy consumed by

with other Heavy-Haul Railways or Railway Research

road transport. At the same time Railways in India now run

Institutions.

Primarily on electricity which can be derived from modes

Dissemination activities:

other than oil including New and Renewable energy sources

Plans for HHRD&A Program website, technical reports,

like wind and solar. Keeping in view the global oil crisis and

stakeholder consultations, workshops and seminars, including

Indias dependence on imports for crude oil, Indian Railways

exposures to international peer review.

is an ideal means of transportation. Railways use one third of

ii) To develop the HHRD&A Program, the Consultant shall:

the Right of Way as compared to the Road. This is another

Prepare a document that will articulate the specific

useful factor for our populous country where land scarcity will

objectives of an HHRD&A program; present experience

always be an issue. Manufacturing is in transition to

of other international heavy-haul railways and list down

manufacturing service industry and Life Cycle Cost (LCC)

their key features, strengths and weaknesses and

becomes an important considerate index. Operation &

relevance for Indian Railways/DFCCIL. To this end he

Maintenance Expense (OME) is the most complicated one

will work closely with DFCCIL and through DFCCIL

among all the LCC expense units. Besides, it also accounts for

with Heavy Haul Committee (HHC) to familiarize

the largest proportion. Authors proposed a LCC modeling

themselves with existing IR infrastructure, operation and

idea, which is Expenses attached to the process, while process

system of working.

consumes resources. Authors take the air-supply and brake

Prepare a detailed and cost-effective implementation plan

system of high-speed train as example, conduct the systems

for a world class heavy haul Research Institute (HHRI) to

maintenance

conduct research and development to support heavy-haul

dependability. According to assessment results, authors match

railway system both in maintenance and operation. The

the systems important maintenance projects, including brake

Consultant shall prepare a Concept and Implementation

control system, main air compressor etc. with their respective

Plan on the setting up of the HHRI in accordance with

maintenance mode. The paper put forward the expense model

best international practice which shall include, inter alia,

of one specific maintenance work on basis of its resource

FMEA

and

risk

assessment

based

on

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Paper Title:- Advanced Operational Maintenance of High Speed Train with Heavy Haul Manufacturing Technology,
Materials Planning
structure. Based on the main air compressors dependability,

familiar clickity-clack sound that accompanies most

authors predicted its Corrective Maintenance (CM) repair

train rides.

times by using Monte Carlo simulation. Combinations of

Limitation is that High Speed Trains cannot negotiate

repair times of Preventive Maintenance (PM) and Condition

tight turns and keep passengers comfortable. For

Based Maintenance (CBM), authors obtained high-speed

example trains running at 125 mph and faster usually

trains OME model. This method has important significance

travel on tracks with curve radii of 2.8 miles or greater.

for modeling the high-speed trains LCC. Besides, it may

HS trains topping out at 217 mph run on tracks with

support the expense research for large equipments with

curve radii of 4.3 miles or greater. On High Speed

complicated process. The Rail Coefficient (percentage of use

turns, the outer rail is often 150 mm higher than the

of Rail) of passengers as well as freight which stands at about

inner rail to create a 1:10 banking angle. Proper

10-20 percent and 35-45 percent present is declining as less

banking makes for a more-comfortable ride.

capacity has been added to the Rail Sector. Increasing Rail

High Speed Trains are also limited in terms of the

Coefficient by expanding capacity is in wider national interest.

grades they can easily handle. In general, grades must

Indian Railways is the third largest railway network in the

be 3.5% or less. Any higher and the train slows down

world with 7,112 railway stations, 1,31,205 railway bridges,

and becomes inefficient.

10499 locomotives (43 steam, 5,633 diesel and 4,823 electric

The cost of building a two-track high-speed rail line,

locomotives), 66,392 passenger coaches, 2,45,267 freight cars

one that will let trains travel at top speed in both

and 68,048 route kilometers. Today it operates above 19,000

directions simultaneously, has been estimated by the

trains every day, comprising 12,617 passenger trains and

Indian Government.

7,421 freight trains. It transports 2.65 million tonnes of freight

The biggest challenge with using pantographs to take

traffic and 23 million passengers every day and 7.2 billion

power from the catenary is keeping the contact forces

passengers per year. It currently has 1.36 million employees

between the two within a given range not too much

and an annual revenue base of Rs.1.709 trillion as projected on

friction but enough contact to make a solid electrical

March 2016. Railways can potentially contribute an additional

connection.

1.5% to 2.5% to GDP. Thus, Modernization of Railways is

Cost estimation is one of the challenges for accuracy of

essential to attain goals of National progress. Introduction of

each and every component of project.

High Speed Railways is an important step in this direction.

Peoples safety is one of the major issue/challenge for

Indian Railway Engineers.

CONCLUSION
To maximize the potential of high speed

REFERENCES

Long-distance bullet train travel

[1].

https://www.railway.research.org

Operators need innovative rail equipment that meets

[2].

Indian railway vision 2020.Government of India,

new requirements for interoperability, economy,

reliability, energy efficiency and the ability to ride both

Ministry of Railway, (Railway Board) December 2009.

[3].

dedicated and non-dedicated tracks.

Railways in India, Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia;

https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Indian_Railways .

High Speed Trains can travel on conventional railroad

[4].

UIC- International Union of Railways, www.uic.org.

tracks, as long as they dont go at high speeds. For

[5].

Automatic Train Supervision; Wikipedia the Free

high-speed travel, tracks must be able to handle the

higher loads while providing an extremely smooth ride.

Encyclopedia (en.wikipedia.org)
[6].

Indian Train Accidents statistics, www.factly.in.

For example, high-speed tracks use continuously

welded rails. This eliminated vibrations, as well as the

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Paper Title:- Advanced Operational Maintenance of High Speed Train with Heavy Haul Manufacturing Technology,
Materials Planning
Indian Railway network ; Wikipedia the Free

[7].

Encyclopedia (en.wikipedia.org).
[8].

Bullet out of Delhi; Hindustan Times.

[9].

International Railway Journal.

[10]. Singh, K.P. : High Speed Trains Arround the World :

Prospects for India , RITES Journal, April 2000.
[11]. Sanjay Misra : High Speed Rail Transportation and its
Indian Relevance, RITES Journal, August 2007.
[12]. Railway Gazette International, UK, 2009.
[13]. http://phys.org/news/2014-10-world-bullet-japan.html

BIOGRAPHIES

My Name is Shripad Shashikant Chopade, Working in Indian

Railways, Researcher on Bullet Train (R&D), Government of
India, Ministry of Railways. Dedicated to Ministry of
Railways / Indian Railways / RDSO/CRR/IIT KHARAGPUR.

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