Inspection of bridges on Indian Railways ,not on the basis of age

Overlived Railway Bridges

There are a total of 1,38,912 bridges on Indian Railways out of which 35,437 bridges are more than 100 years old. However, the age of the bridge does not have any direct relevance on the physical condition of the bridge. 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, the detailed technical inspection of certain bridges is also carried out at specified periodicity by the designated officials. Repair/strengthening/rehabilitation/rebuilding of 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. During the last five years, 4338 bridges have been repaired/strengthened/rehabilitated/rebuilt on Indian Railways.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

Source :PIBNEWS.