Lok Sabha Question No. 3655 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-22
Subject: Lifespan of Railway Bridge
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Guman Singh Damor

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3655 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.03.2023

## LIFESPAN OF RAILWAY BRIDGE

†3655. SHRI GUMAN SINGH DAMOR:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  details  of  the  Amrit  Bharat  Station  Scheme  and  the  works proposed to be executed under the said scheme;
- (b) the average design life of a railway bridge;
- (c)  the  number  of  such  bridges  in  the  country  which  have  completed twice the years of its design life;
- (d) whether new bridges are proposed to be constructed in place of such bridges and if so, the details thereof;
- (e)  the  number  of  level  crossings  between  Dahod  and  Ratlam  Stations under the Western Railway; and
- (f) the time by which railway overbridges are proposed to be constructed in lieu thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (f) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (f) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3655 BY SHRI GUMAN SINGH DAMOR TO BE ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  22.03.2023  REGARDING  LIFESPAN  OF RAILWAY BRIDGE

(a)  The  Amrit  Bharat  Station  Scheme  has  recently  been  launched  by Ministry  of  Railways  for  development  of  Railway  Stations  on  Indian Railways. This scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach.

The scheme involves preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations  like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls,  toilets, lift/escalators  as  necessary,  cleanliness,  free  Wi-Fi,  kiosks  for  local products through schemes  like 'One Station One Product', better passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business  meetings,  landscaping  etc.  keeping  in  view  the  necessity  at each station.

The  scheme  also  envisages  improvement  of  building,  integrating  the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballastless tracks, 'Roof Plazas' as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centres at the station in the long term.

1275  stations  have  been  selected  based  on  the  proposals  received from Zonal Railways, stations located in major cities and towns.

(b) to (d) Design life of Railway bridges depends upon design discharge, location of bridge, type of material used etc. and generally varies from 50 to 100 years or more.   There are number of Railway bridges of varying ages on Indian Railways. The age of the bridge does not have any direct relevance on the physical condition of the bridge.

Safety of Bridges across the country is accorded high priority by Indian Railways.  Railways  follow  a  well  established  system  of  inspection  of each bridge twice a year, once  before the onset of monsoon and once after monsoon by the designated officials.

Each year, bridges are identified for Repair/ Rebuilding/Rehabilitation/Strengthening, based on priority of repair depending on their physical condition and functionality assessed during these inspections, which is an ongoing process.

(e) and (f) There are 07 Nos. of Level Crossings (LCs) between Dahod and Ratlam stations.  ROB  works are  sanctioned  on  cost  sharing  basis  with State Govt. in lieu of 6 LCs and RUB work is sanctioned in lieu of 1 LC. Completion of ROB/RUB  works depends on various factors like cooperation of State Governments in consent for closure of LC, fixing of approach  alignment,  approval  of  General  Arrangement  Drawing  (GAD), land acquisition, removal of encroachment, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory  clearances  from  various  authorities,  etc.  All  these  factors affect  the  completion  time  of  the  projects  /  works.  Therefore,  it  is  not feasible  to  indicate  definite  timeline  for  completion  of  above  ROB/RUB works.

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