Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday (July 31) in a written reply informed Lok Sabha that the Indian Railways has sanctioned repairs, strengthening, rehabilitation, or rebuilding for a total of 9,784 railway bridges.
This announcement came in response to questions from nine MPs regarding the condition of old railway bridges in Maharashtra and the details of repair work carried out over the past three years.
Concern over railway bridge collapses
The MPs had expressed concerns about recent incidents involving railway bridge collapses, including casualties, and inquired about the government’s measures to address and repair aging bridges across the country.
Vaishnaw assured that a rigorous inspection system is in place for railway bridges, with each bridge being inspected twice a year—once before the monsoon and once after.
“There is a well established system of inspection of railway bridges on Indian Railways. All the railway bridges are inspected twice a year, one before the onset of monsoon and one detailed inspection after the monsoon,” Vaishnaw said.
He emphasised that repairs and upgrades are conducted based on the physical condition of the bridges as determined during these inspections, rather than their age.
“In addition, certain railway bridges are also inspected more frequently depending upon their condition. Repair, strengthening, rehabilitation, rebuilding of railway 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,” he added.
No cases of rail bridges collapse in Maharashtra
The minister also confirmed that no railway bridges in Maharashtra have collapsed in the past three years and assured that all bridges are safe for train operations at the permitted speeds.
“The information on railway bridges is maintained zone-wise and not state–wise. Maharashtra is covered under Central Railway, South Central Railway, South East Central Railway, South Western Railway and Western Railway,” Vaishnaw said.
5,405 bridges repaired in last 3 years
Over the last three years, 5,405 bridges across Indian Railways have been repaired, rehabilitated, strengthened, or rebuilt, including 1,323 in the aforementioned five zones.
“During last three years, 5,405 numbers of railway bridges were repaired, rehabilitated, strengthened or rebuilt in the Indian Railways, which include 1,323 numbers of railway bridges in the above mentioned five zonal railways. As on April 1, 2024, 9,784 numbers of railway bridges are sanctioned for repairs, strengthening, rehabilitation or rebuilding on the Indian Railways,” Vaishnaw said.
Vaishnaw noted that the information on railway bridges is categorised by zones rather than states, with Maharashtra falling under the Central Railway, South Central Railway, South East Central Railway, South Western Railway, and Western Railway zones.