The Indian Railways has started the work of metal fencing along the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, where a number of cattle run-over incidents were reported after the semi high-speed Vande Bharat train began running in this stretch. The fencing is expected to be completed by the end of May, as per an official statement released on Sunday.
The fencing will be made of metal guard rails and be made robust by having two W-beams. A W-beam type stands for wide flanges, which are thicker and aid in resisting bend stress. Such fencing is used on highways and expressways, especially at accident-prone sites to provide protection to vehicles as well as pedestrians.
According to the ministry, all tenders have been awarded and the work is progressing at a rapid pace. “The metal barrier fencing will cover a length of about 622 km between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and will be undertaken at an approximate cost of Rs 245.26 crore. All eight tenders have been awarded and work is progressing in full swing,” the statement read.
In addition, the Western Railway has also appealed to cattle owners and grazers to not let their cattle near railway land or tracks. The cattle run-over incidents prompted the zonal railways to take steps to prevent them.
Such incidents not only result in massive loss to dairy farmers, but cause damage to the train. In this case, the accidents have resulted in damage to the replaceable nose cone of the leading driving trailer car in the Vande Bharat Express train, which is designed to absorb the shock from such accidents without compromising passenger safety.
In November 2022, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the boundary walls will be installed along the tracks in the next five to six months. A total of 2,521 mail and express trains have been affected by cattle hits in 2022-23, as per data up to December.
New Delhi-Mumbai, New Delhi-Howrah identified for fencing
A ministry official said fencing had been proposed along tracks in stretches identified for raising sectional speed to 160 kmph and at vulnerable locations for other sections.
“New Delhi-Mumbai (including Vadodara-Ahmedabad) and New Delhi-Howrah (including Kanpur-Lucknow) routes have been identified for fencing all along the track apart from vulnerable locations on other routes of the Indian Railways. The total proposed expenditure is Rs 4,677 crore,” the official told News18, requesting anonymity.
The official further said the completion of fencing/boundary wall depended on factors like shifting of infringing utilities, removal of encroachment, geological and topographical conditions, number of working months for a particular location due to climatic conditions among others.
“All these factors affect the completion time. Keeping these constraints in mind, every effort is being made to execute the works expeditiously,” the official added.
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