1. Rajeev Bhargava
Consultant for Optimizing Design and Speedy Construction of Track and Bridges and
Running of Steel Plants
Rajeev Bhargava born on 1954 and a topper from IIT Roorkee in 1974 and topper of All India
Examination held in same year, joined Indian Railways in 1975. He worked on various assignments
during his 39 years’ with Indian Railways.
He thinks beyond stereotype patterns, examines the issues with new angles to solve problems. He is
a solution provider on all types of managerial positions. He has delivered out of box and on the spot
solutions to complex managerial problems. (karmawithyoga.blogspot.in) Some of these are risk
taking and uncomfortable but his style of in-depth study of issues, approach to hold the bull by its
horns has demonstrated his decisions to enhance safety, quality and optimize cost over-run and
time over-run.
His 29 articles on track covers entire gamut including design of components, lying of tracks on High
Speed lines. Besides 29 articles, his technical notes explain basic fundamentals of design of various
components of track and track behaviour under different conditions.
His spirit of innovation converted Rail Bridge into Rail-cum Road on 5 Km long Ganga Bridge at Patna
more importantly on reduced foundation, similar reduced depth of foundations on Mega Bridge at
Munger & at Koshy, also achieved economy in river protection works. These decisions were taken
mid way during construction when he was given responsibility for construction of these Bridges. His
article on ‘Economy achieved on Bridges’ speaks of his confidence on application of design principles
on Mega Bridges. He innovated strategies for jump from a stage of 68 kms in previous 10 years to
325 kms in 3 years of his tenure.
A Civil Engineer, he innovated scrap mix to save Rail Wheel Factory from a looming shut down for
want of scrap. His penchant to document, he authored 4 articles on increasing production
controlling rejections, reducing period of annual shut down.
He can write manuals for operation of trains as well as for maintenance of track

2. KEY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
 Engineering Design De novo designed the Ganga Rail Bridge into Rail cum Road Bridge with 51 m
deep wells at Patna even when some of the foundation was over with 63 m deep for
Rail bridge. Similar major changes in design during construction of other 2 mega
bridges- Ganga bridge at Munger and Kosi bridge where depth of well was reduced.
 Productivity and
process improvement
As CEO of Indian Railways Wheel & Axle manufacturing plant turnaround the plant
from near shutdown due to scrap non-availability and Increased and sustained the
production above plant capacity and achieved a record for the plant.
 Turnkey Construction Constructed 350 KMs of Railway line in 3years in ECR compared to 68 KMs in
previous 10 years
 Expediting
Construction
Measure completion of construction projects in terms of working seasons. Can construct
important bridges in 3 working seasons while earth work takes 2 working seasons.
 Engineering
Documentation
Wrote Indian Railway Permanent Way Manual for operation and maintenance of
Railway tracks
 Solution provider Think beyond stereotype patterns. Looks for new angles to understand the finer issues and
provide workable solutions by considering theoretical as well as practical dimensions
Consultant of Track, Bridges & Running of Steel Plants July 2014 – Present
I continued to put my potential of human values to foster and churn my technical knowledge and
managerial capabilities with coolness and volcanic form whenever necessary. This has led to
accomplish a co-operative environment winning over the bureaucratic lassitude for break-through
in sick and intricate areas by restoration of good will of sick industries with the client authorities
and promotion of comparable products in market by following different innovative strategies .
I have written 29 articles on various subjects of track design, track stresses, track maintenance, track
inspection during my active service in Railways . I still continue to pen down crisp and thought
provoking issues relating to track and managerial issues . The two recent articles sent for publishing
on track are mentioned below to keep myself aware about the recent developments:
1. What controls Ballast degradation & plastic deformation of subgrade, 2. Management of
Change.
General Manager, Kolkata January 2014 – June 2014
In Metro Railway my specific contribution was to-
• Dispense with Empty pilot trains, a safety protocol/drill enforce in Kolkata Metro for decades, as
redundant AND run these as commercial service and thereby extending the service timings.
• Transform the working by launching intense initiatives to create a Public Centric operating policy
by conceiving lifts/escalators on all stations, friendly public signages, improvements in cars. Four
underground stations have now been planned to have lifts whereas none of underground stations
hitherto had lift.

3. • Work out the entire operational methodology for new lines and their stabling plan & development
of maintenance facilities. Construction works worth Rs 1600 Cores are lying idle for various reasons
beyond the Railways control. Devised a plan to prioritize further construction work only in
areas/sectors where they could be completed and commissioned in a time bound manner even by
deferring the works worth Rs 3000 crores and more importantly operationalize the Airport metro
station.
General Manager, Bengaluru December 2011 – January 2014
I headed Rail Wheel Factory, the only production unit of Indian Railways which manufactures wheels
by casting process, axles by forging process and wheelsets for rolling stock of Indian Railways. RWF
meets almost 80% requirement of Indian Railway. My specific contribution in this plant is to-.
• Innovate the raw mix by use of condemned rails as scrap at RWF- a plant starving for rejected
wheel scrap with looming shutdown. Now, factory will never come to stop for want of scrap.
• Introduce a new computerised tracking system in February 2014 to identify cause of rejections in
order to address manufacturing process in real time. This reduced rejections from 6% to 4 %.
• Reduce the plant annual maintenance time from 21 to 14 days and effectively added number of
working days by 3%.
• Ruthlessly improve raw materials by upgrading the specifications, improving suppliers
‘manufacturing process.
• Increase and sustain the production above plant capacity and achieved a record for the plant.
Received 2 international awards.
General Manager, Hubli December 2013 – January 2014
In SW Rly, my significant contribution was to-
• Study bottlenecks in operation of trains particularly in Castle Rock-Qulem and Skaleshpur-
Subramanya Road sections which are geographically one of the toughest sections of Indian Railway. I
was able to propose solutions to increase the throughput from 6 rakes per day to 14 rakes per day
without additional investment.
• Re-engineer operation by optimising utilisation of crew, engine runs and judicious planning of train
operation.
Additional Member Works, New Delhi May 2010 – December 2013
This was a policy making position at Ministry level. Ministry of Railway is an infrastructure Ministry
with around 50,000 sanctioned works under different plan heads. My specific contribution was-

4. • Policy imperative on approval of track structure and Schedule of dimensions for all the Metro
Railways.
Additional Director General, Lucknow, U.P. September 2007 – May 2010
Research Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) is the sole R&D organisation of Indian Railways
and functions as the technical advisor to Railway Board, Zonal Railways and Production Units. Its
main job is development, adoption and absorption of new technology for use on Indian Railways. It
also develops standards for materials, products and operating practices needed by Indian Railways.
My specific contribution was-
•Removed the incompleteness in specifications and QAP’s. I was able to curtail the unscrupulous
vendors over Indian Railways.
Chief Administrative Officer, Hajipur, Bihar October 2004 – August 2007
ECR is a zone of Indian Railways where infrastructure works are done on massive scale. I was in
charge of all the construction activities in states of Bihar and Jharkhand. My specific contributions
were-
• Conversion of Ganga Rail Bridge into a rail-cum-road bridge at Patna, at a time when some of the
foundations of the bridge were over. I reviewed the design of bridge and found that calculations
could support a rail cum Road Bridge. This decision ultimately met the approval of Prime Minister’s
office within 8 months. I was also able to reduce the cost of this bridge by reducing the
reinforcement by 30% and depth of well from 63 to 51 meters. Similarly the depth of foundation at
Ganga Bridge, Munger was changed to 55 from 70 meters.
•During this period of 3 years, construction and commissioning of new railway line of 350 KMs
whereas in previous 10 years only 68 KMs of line was constructed. This was achieved by reviewing
design parameters during execution, by innovating material and manpower management and
releasing design based on thumb rule so that all mobilisations start and the contractor for bridges
has no excuses for delay.
Principal Chief Engineer, Secunderabad, AP May 2003 – October 2004
SCR is a major freight-loading zone of Indian Railways with route length of 5800 KM’s. It is one of the
busiest among all zones of Indian Railways. I was incharge of maintenance of tracks, bridges and
structures. My specific contribution was-
• Reduced rail and weld fractures by setting standards for track maintenance and renewal by
correlating with the use of diagnostic aids such as track renewal car and USFD.

5. Divisional Railway Manager, Jhansi, U.P. June 2001 – May 2003
Handpicked to lead Jhansi, which is one of the largest division of IR network in business (both freight
& passenger operation), socio-politically. My specific contribution was-
• Planned number of freight trains with one crew runs of order of 597 KMs in 10 hours which
ensured availability of crews for all freight trains irrespective of traffic ordered.
IRICEN, Senior Professor, Pune January 1996 – December 2000
Indian Railway Institute of Civil Engineering (IRICEN) is a training institute, which fulfills the need of
training to freshly recruited Railway Civil Engineers and professionals. The Institute covers training
modules on Track, Bridges and Structures covering specific needs of the railways. My specific
contribution was-
• Authored the Indian Railway Permanent way manual as One Man Expert Commission and the
global tender for the same work was cancelled. This document runs into 592 pages and was
completed in a record time of 6 months.
Executive Director, Railway Board and Earlier Positions (21 Years) October 1975 – January 1996
In this earlier phase I worked as Divisional Superintending Engineer, Dy Chief Engineer/Track and
Executive Director Railway Board. My specific contribution was in the area of track safety &
rehabilitation of track on high speed, and heavy density routes and ensure record gauge conversion
on Indian Railways.
EDUCATION: Graduated as BE (Civil) in April 1974. Selected for Indian Engineering Services
examination conducted by UPSC in 1974 (securing 1st position India wide) and joined IRSE in 1975 at
21 years of age. Got 10 gold medals including Chancellor medal.

6. Publications
1. Economy achieved in Substructures of Mega bridge Projects of East Central Railway; Under the
heading of Innovative Design Concepts in the Proceedings of National Seminar on Innovative Load
Transfer Devices and Foundation; January 2016
Economizing design is a continuing exercise and should continue during the construction period of
bridges as well. We must not sidetrack the changes in ground realities and manage them in real
time. This only can optimize design and restrict cost and time over run. In the instant case, review of
design parameters mid way resulted into conversion of 5 Km long Rail bridge into Rail cum Road
Bridge and more importantly on 20% less foundation and depth.
2. Track Maintenance- Application of theory in Practice; 6th International Conference of Railway
Experts conducted at Yugoslavia; October 1999
This explains theoretical aspects as to how to drive maximum benefit from the track laid on concrete
sleeper with higher UTS rails intended to offer high quality track with superior maintainability
requiring lesser track possession for high speed and heavy duty lines. Technical solutions available to
handle situations like over loading and over speeding are also explained rather depending only on
higher track standards.
3. Familiarization with Conventional Track Calculations for Track Dimensioning and Track Design;
Indian Railways Technical Bulletin; May 1999.
An attempt has been made to familiarize with fundamentals of conventional track calculations. This
would help the readers in appreciating the order of magnitude of stress as well as single most
primary factor providing relief to stress in (a) rail, (b) at sleeper-ballast interface and (c) formation
pressure. This article also explains the changes in behaviour of track with change in type of sleeper
or standard of maintenance so as to dimension the track and decide the track standards.
4. Issues concerning Track Inspection to Rejuvenate Track Maintenance of Modern Track;
Permanent Way Bulletin; July 1997
Systematic planning is necessary to remove the structural deficiencies in track. Rate of deterioration
cannot be controlled only by attending the ballast. Lack of knowledge of quantum of work
component wise and structure wise is the basic reason for the inappropriately planning the track
maintenance works .The result is mounting of arrears of track deficiencies. An attempt has been
made to question the present system of inspection instead of blaming the people for their so called
apathy towards track maintenance.

7. 5. A critical Resume of Manpower Planning for Track Maintenance; Permanent Way Bulletin; June
1998
An attempt has been made to de nova assess the yardstick for maintenance of a modern track laid
on concrete sleeper. The requirement and strength of manpower for maintenance of track has been
worked out.
6. Familiarization with Ultrasonic Flaw Detector; Permanent Way Bulletin; March 1999
This article explains the Principles of USFD testing technique, characteristics of Probe, Types of
probe, uses of probe and Components of the tester and prerequisites for their efficient & reliable
functioning, Calibration & sensitivity checking and necessary repairs arrangement.
7. Re-look on Decision-Making Process to Control Rail & Weld Fractures; Permanent Way Bulletin;
December 1998
Wiping out the overage track by using heavier poundage and higher UTS rails alone cannot provide
relief. In this article, attention of the field engineers is drawn as to how to systematically analyse the
situations obtaining in field by proper record-keeping and thereafter appropriate decision-making
follows for control of rail and weld fractures.
8. Maintenance Precautions on High Speed Routes; Indian Railways Technical Bulletin; August 1995
It is not possible to impose restrictive speed on high speed routes for normal maintenance. This
article identifies precautions to be taken so as to avoid Reduction in lateral and vertical resistance of
track affecting stability of track, In- built twist, Obstruction to running trains, other adverse factors
particularly on renewal sites, etc.
9. Maintenance Problems on Concrete Sleeper Track; Indian Railways Technical Bulletin; August
1995
This article deals with various problems arising out of use of concrete sleepers,
temporary/permanent solution and remedies to avoid these problems. An attempt has also been
made to make out twelve months cycle of maintenance for PRC sleepers.
10. Making Track Monitoring More Purposeful; Permanent Way Bulletin; June 1999
An attempt has been made as to how track monitoring can be used for track management.

8. 11. A case study of removing redundant empty pilot run in Metro Railway to optimize train timings
for enhanced customer satisfaction; Urban Railways; February 2014
This study discusses as to how utilization of empty pilot run on Metro Railway, Kolkata for decades
was converted into opportunity on 21.05.2014 and result obtained through this exercise can now be
extended to new Metro systems coming up. With the safety mechanisms built in any metro system
as discussed in this study can discard empty pilot run from inception itself.
12. Enhancing the capacity and developing capabilities of a cast wheel plant for possible exports;
Institute of Indian Foundrymen; May 2014
Rail Wheel Factory, Bangalore, is running to full capacity and caters to 80% requirements of Indian
Railways for wheels & axles and 100% wheel-sets .In the recent years further incremental capacity
increase has been attempted which has surfaced the bottlenecks. The bottlenecks have been solved
by ingenious methods. The working of a cast wheel plant has been analyzed from the point of view
of capacity constraints and the technical solutions. The roadmap for RWF is crafted as how the
existing plant can export its wheel to the world markets.
13. Analysis of railway wheel casting defects and identification of remedial measures; Institute of
Indian Foundrymen; July 2014
This article brings out as to how a computerized system to track the rejections introduced in
February 2014 to identify causes of rejection led to address the issues in real time to improve the
manufacturing process and thereby improve quality and reduce rejections from 6% to 4% on a
sustained basis in a very very short time. The instant case study is an effort towards scientifically
identifying the avoidable and unavoidable situation leading to rejection of Wheels and finding the
reasons for rejection attributable to avoidable rejections. This study may be relevant to other
organizations, because every organization with a continuous process with time and temperature
limitation works under conflicting requirements. In such plants numerous process parameters are to
be controlled within the limits.
14. What controls Ballast degradation & plastic deformation of subgrade, essentially ensures
Modern Track- What was the 1st stage of Birth of Modern Railway Track? Now what will lead to
2nd stage of Birth of Modern Track?; To be Published, Indian Railways, Technical Bulletin,
The 1st stage of Birth of Modern Railway Track was in 1950 when French Scientists killed two birds
with one stone ie. By evolving the need of elastic fastenings to take care of BOTH THE CAUSES OF
RAPID BALLAST DEGRADATION i.e. high frequency vibrations and hammer blows at the joints. The
article brings out the solutions for the situations when rehabilitation/ improvement of formation as
necessary, to control plastic deformation could not keep pace with the introduction of heavy duty
track because of high speed, higher axle loads and increasing GMT.

9. 15. Management of Change; To be published; Indian Railways, Technical Bulletin
This article brings out the reasoning mathematically to explain the behaviour of track. This article
also brings out how to manage the change for handling a track which has got higher track models.