Railway Board orders action against officials over use of faulty wagons

New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) The Railway Board has ordered action against officials responsible for approving the manufacture and operation of "defective" wagons as their "negligence" caused the derailment of a freight train on September 19 this year.

Besides, around 900 such wagons, manufactured by the railway PSU Braithwaite & Co. Limited, have come under scrutiny for possible defects, as similar types of bogies have been used in all these wagons.

While the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) is responsible for granting design approval and quality assurance, the zonal railways and Neutral Control Organisation (NCO) are tasked with conducting period overhauling.

In a letter dated December 12, addressed to the director general of RDSO and other concerned authorities, the Railway Board said in a recent derailment case, it was observed that certain components of the wagon (BCNAHSM1) and its bogies were found to be outside the specified limits.

The letter also stated that the investigations confirmed the defect and further indicated the possibility of similar issues in other BCNAHSM1 wagons manufactured by Braithwaite.

The Board suggested an action plan for rectification of these wagons, along with system-level improvements to prevent recurrence.

“Responsibility must be fixed for the lapse on the part of RDSO QA (Quality Assurance) officials in permitting the manufacturing of faulty bogies, and appropriate action should be initiated against them under the applicable D&A (Discipline and Appeal) Rules,” the letter said.

“Responsibility for lapses on the part of ROH (Routine Overhauling) and NCO officials for not detecting the faulty wagons during ROH must also be fixed and erring officials must be taken up under D&A Rules,” it said.

Elaborating the proposed action plan for the rectification of the wagons, the Railway Board urged the concerned parties to take steps to identify, mark and detach them. It further suggested that Braithwaite should undertake two repair methodologies.

“If the wagon cannot be made fit by either of the above two methodologies, it shall be handed over to Braithwaite & Co. Limited (BCL) for condemnation, and a new wagon shall be provided by BCL at no financial implication to Indian Railways,” the Board said.

The Board further suggested that for better traceability and life cycle monitoring of the wagons, a system of fixing a unique number (generated by Freight Maintenance Management System) plate on underframe on the pattern of the automobile sector should be introduced.

It asked RDSO to formulate a standardized scheme for generating a unique number from FMM System, including necessary changes in the drawings and specifications. PTI JP JP KVK KVK