A brief introduction to railway engineerimg and the methodology through which railway construction and operation is carried out

1. Introduction to
Railway Engineering
MUHAMMAD TAIMUR KHAN 2K18-FT-MS-TRAN-05
TARIQ NAVEED 2K18-FT-MS-TRAN-08

2. Definition
• The branch of Civil Engineering which deals with the design, construction and
maintenance of the railway tracks for safe and efficient movements of trains is called
Railway Engineering .
•Rail
• The rolled steel sections laid end to end in two parallel lines over sleepers to form
a railway track are known as rails.

3. History
 In medieval times people mostly travelled by foot or
horseback and any form of transportation was mainly
for moving goods.
The first railways were laid down in the seventeenth
and eighteenth century for horse drawn trains of
wagons in collieries and quarries.
As the Industrial Revolution progressed, the
idea was developed further by adding cast iron or
wrought iron plates to reduce wear on the wooden
baulks.

4. History
This evolved further to iron edge rails enabling the use of flanged
wheels for the first time.
steam locomotives came on the scene, in the early nineteenth
century, wrought iron rails and later steel rails were developed which
were strong enough to support these heavy axle loads without
assistance from longitudinal timbers.
In essence the track itself, together with its supports, had and still has
the basic function of safely transmitting the loads and forces imposed
by passing trains to the ground beneath.
Various other civil engineering skills were also involved such as the
building of bridges, tunnels and gravity walls as well as extensive
earthworks and drainage.

5. History
There was a need to balance the requirements and interests of the various
engineering disciplines involved.
Example: Effect of rolling stock on the fixed infrastructure.
This may sometimes require compromise in certain disciplines for the good of
the whole .

6. History of railway in Subcontinent
Sir Henry David Frere, appointed as the commissioner of Sindh, ought
permission from lord Dalhousie to begin a survey for a Karachi seaport and a
railway line in 1858. On may 13th, 1861 the first railway line was opened to the
public, between Karachi and Kotri, with a total distance of 169 km.

7. History of Railways in Pakistan
In 1947 following independence, most of the North Western State Railway
infrastructure was in Pakistani territory and was renamed the Pakistan Western
Railway. In East Bengal, the portion of the Assam Bengal Railway in Pakistani
territory was renamed the Pakistan Eastern Railway. The country adopted 8,122
kilometers (5,047 mi) of the North Western State Railway; 6,880 kilometers
(4,280 mi) was 1,676 mm(5 ft 6 in), 506 kilometers (314 mi) was meter gauge,
and 736 kilometers (457 mi) was 762 mm(2 ft. 6 in) narrow gauge.

9. Development and diversification
In the early railways the Boards would appoint an Engineer
Responsible for all the engineering of the railway parts, both moving and fixed.
Often involved in the actual day-to-day operating of the railway.
 This had considerable advantage from a point of view of co-ordination.
With time roles Became more specialized.

10. The Customer
The needs and aspirations of the customer must always be kept in the forefront of the
mind.
The passenger’s basic needs are to travel comfortably and to arrive safely at the
destination reasonably on time.
The freight customer needs confidence that his goods will be delivered safely and on
time.
And at a reasonable cost.
All engineers and Operators need to work together to achieve this objective.
Departmental and local interests can and often do arise which can jeopardize this
simple objective .

11. The operator
Operator’s needs in satisfying the customer’s needs are also very important .
In satisfying the customer’s basic needs, there is often more than one
operational solution.
the operators and the engineers involved to jointly consider all the valid options
which are available.
Example: the consideration of carrying out week-end essential works either over
a number of shorter possessions of the railway or over one longer week-end.
must also be able to deal with emergencies during periods of engineering work
and contingency plans must be drawn up for this.

12. Overall planning
In constructing and maintaining any railway system infrastructure, there are
various engineering activities that overlap each other.
Proper co-ordination and co-operation is necessary here.
items of work where there is considerable overlap or ‘knock-on’ effect.
An example of this might be the requirement to renew a number of bridges on a
certain line.
Depending on relative costs in each area, an optimum programme could be
drawn up jointly which would keep overall costs and disruption to a minimumin
the long term.

13. Overall Planning
booking of long possessions to do work in one area might provide opportunities
for other engineers to carry out other works at the same time, thus reducing
expenditure overall.
This type of co-operation is not always easy and does require a flexible attitude .
Maximum benefit of the whole must be the criterion.

14. Choice of Route and Level
choices have to be made relating to the best route, and which parts will need to
be elevated or in tunnel.
largely dictated by traffic demands and existing physical constraints .
In some cases, cost for alternatives is compared.
In such cases, ground conditions and water levels as well as existing building
foundations and services must all be taken into consideration.
level of the railway will be determined by existing physical constraints.
However, all engineering implications are fully investigated and costed before
any decision is made to construct a railway, either underground or on elevated
structure.

15. Choice of Route and Level
(Underground)
For underground construction, full allowance must be made for the full life
costs of escalators, ventilation/air conditioning, lighting and other services,
additional tunneled accommodation for staff, fire protection and
emergency exits etc.
Disruption during the construction in inner city areas is considered when
deciding whether or not to go underground.

16. Choice of Route and Level
(Elevated)
For elevated railway, a careful considerationon environmental issues including
visual impact and noise is needed.
 Dealing with emergencies at high level must be considered.
elevated railways occupy less ground level space, the stations often cover more
relative area because of the need for stairs, ramps and escalators etc.
From an engineering point of view, alignments should also be as smooth
as possible without steep gradients or tight curves to reduce wear on both
the rolling stock and the track and to keep power consumption to a minimum.

17. Resources Required
For the satisfactory operation and maintenance of a railway, certain basic
resources are required:
1. human resources
2. Fixed assets
3. mobile machinery
 Inadequacy in any of this fixed triangle will mean that good operation cannot
be maintained, irrespective of the performance on the other sides

18. Human Resources
Careful selection and adequate training of personnel at all levels is
essential.
good relations with staff both at National and local level must have a high
priority.
This requires constant attention at all levels of engineering management.
Individuals need to feel that they are valued and that they have a positive part to
play in the running of the whole enterprise.

19. Thanks