Every month, each railway compiles loco utilisation and accountal data in a real format called Statement 4A, for steam/diesel/electric locomotives.
Real 4A Statement Terminology
- Average total number on line: average engines actually on line. Includes engine replaced but still running; excludes engines lent to other departments and condemned engines awaiting formal sanction; includes engines hired from other Railways/departments.
- Average number under/awaiting repairs: ineffective figure calculated hourly. An engine under/awaiting repair for a full day = 1 engine day; ineffective days = actual ineffective hours ÷ 24. Real 2 sub-categories: (i) Statistical Ineffective — loco under/awaiting repair for the FULL calendar day (0 to 0 hours) — always a whole number. (ii) Minor Ineffective — loco under/awaiting repair for PART of the day. Real worked example: Loco 23026 under repair 16-23 hrs (7 hrs), Loco 23275 under repair 8-22 hrs (14 hrs); minor ineffective = (7+14)/24 = 21/24 = 0.88.
- Average number effective = Average total number on line − Average number under repair/awaiting repair. This is the loco's availability for traffic use.
Real Service Classification & Formulas
| Real Service Type | Real Definition |
|---|---|
| Passenger service | Locos on passenger/mail/express services = Total engine hrs on such services in a calendar day ÷ 24 |
| Mixed service | Parcel trains, plantain special etc. = Total engine hrs on mixed services ÷ 24 |
| Goods service | = Total engine hrs on goods services ÷ 24 |
| Shunting service | Engines earmarked for yard/siding shunting only. If a TRAIN engine does shunting for its own train, those hours count under the train's own service (pass/mixed/goods) instead — e.g. a goods-train engine used by the SM for shunting counts as goods-service hours. |
| Departmental service | Ballast/rail-moving trains for engineering dept.; track-maintenance work (PQRS etc.); pilot engines running for protection of trains. |
| Banking service | Engines banking heavier loads on steep gradients — real-world provided full-time (round-the-clock) at certain grade sections. If a banking engine is used to bank a GOODS train, its hours count as goods-service hours instead. |
Real note: if an engine is used for 2+ services during one midnight-to-midnight day, it's allocated to each different service based on time spent on each.
- Engine km per day per engine in use = Engine km earned in a calendar day × 24 ÷ Engine hours in USE.
- Engine km per day per engine ON LINE = Engine km earned in a calendar day × 24 ÷ Engine hours ON LINE. (The difference between 'in use' and 'on line' figures may be due to some engines idling for repair-related movement to shed/shop.)
- Engine km/day/engine on line on ALL services = average of the [Eng.km/day/engine on line] figures for Passenger + Mixed + Goods services, divided by 3. Same average logic applies for the 'in use' version.
Real Classification of Engine Failures
An engine is 'failed' if it can't complete its journey with the specified engine in specified time.
| Real Failure Type | Real Threshold |
|---|---|
| Statistical engine failure | Loco-related problem causes ≥30 min arrival delay for mail/express/passenger trains, OR ≥60 min delay for freight trains |
| Non-statistical engine failure | Loco problem occurs but loss of time is <30 min (mail/express/passenger) or <60 min (goods) |
Real time-loss calculation: for passenger-carrying trains, loss is calculated NET — mail/express/passenger trains may also gain time running at max. permissible speed, so net time loss = time lost − time gained. Real worked example: an express train lost 25 min to a loco problem but gained 15 min elsewhere in the run — net time loss = 25 − 15 = 10 minutes only. For goods trains, loss = time lost only (time gained isn't tracked/maintained for goods).
- Real 6 reasons for engine failure (classified by the homing shed): defective design, defective material, bad workmanship in shop, bad workmanship in shed, mismanagement by engine crew, miscellaneous (e.g. cattle run-over).
- Real cases NOT counted as statistical engine failure (treated as non-statistical instead): failure of a departmental-service engine; failure of a shunting-service engine; failure of a trial engine (post heavy-repair schedule like AOH/IOH/POH, traction-motor/transformer replacement); failure of a locomotive already overdue for schedule by more than 24 hours.
Real Repair-Outage Targets & Holding Formulas
Real Railway Board-prescribed repair-allowance targets: Statistical under repair = 9.2%. Minor under repair = 10% (available for ALL services except mail/express/passenger — since minor repair for passenger locos happens during the loco's real lie-over period at the destination station, which is treated as 'in use' time, not under-repair time; freight/other services have no such lie-over/link provision, hence the 10% allowance).
Hire Charges of Locomotive — Real Rules
Per real Railway Board letter No. F(X)1-92/12-1 dated 12.1.1993, engine hire charges are now calculated on ENGINE HOURS used (not engine km, as earlier practice was). 2 real categories: (i) engine hired to public/private sector for siding use — engine-hours accounted by the traffic department, billed to commercial branch who bills the sector; (ii) engine hire charges to another Zonal Railway — tracked via the PCOR/TLC recorder's hourly chart of loco movement, with TLC/PCORs staying in constant touch with neighbouring division/railway TLC/PCOR to record engine handover/takeover times. Real budgeting note: divisions with no loco shed bear the full debit for foreign-railway locos running in their area; divisions with loco sheds budget for both their own engine-hire earnings (credit) and foreign-engine hire debits. Coaching-loco hire charges can be estimated accurately from the known timetable; goods-engine hire charges (no fixed timetable/link) are estimated from the traffic pattern of the last 3-6 months. Engine hire charges are accounted against a specific Demand No. in the budget.
Real Duty-Hours Watch & LP Relief System
Real factors affecting goods-LP duty hours: distance between crew-change points, pre-departure detention, gradient/banking in section, mail/express/passenger traffic density, unusual occurrences, running-staff vacancies. Crew controllers maintain a log book of LP names/sign-on times; when an LP approaches a real 09-hour duty threshold, a relief LP is arranged — SCOR may be advised to run that LP's train without stopping for precedence so the LP reaches destination within 9 hours, or relief is arranged at a convenient station if that's not possible. An LP may also demand relief after completing the 9-hour duty period.
- Real duty-hours record terms: WMWS (Wheel Move to Wheel Stop, denoted Tms) — time from departure at one crew-change point to arrival at the next. SOSO (Sign On to Sign Off) — total LP duty time: T-soso = Tms + Pre-departure detention + Post-departure detention. This is compiled generally every 10 days plus one monthly statement, sent to COD and HQ office monthly, with detailed analysis of reasons for 'bursting' of duty hours (both a real 09-hour and, elsewhere, a real 10-hour duty-limit reference are in use) feeding remedial action.
Light Engine / Dead Movement — Real Rules & Real Defect Speed Limits
Real accountal rule: if a loco fit for traffic use is moved dead/light for power balancing or clearing from another station, it's accounted as loco used for the freight/passenger service for which it's being moved. If a loco NOT fit for traffic use is moved as Light Engine Loco Account (LELA), the engine hours are counted as departmental service. Movement between divisions to balance engine holding is called Light Engine Traffic Account (LE.TA).
| Real Defect | Real Handling / Speed Restriction |
|---|---|
| Both PVs not working (vacuum-brake loco, no air-brake load available) | Loco moved LIGHT without any speed restriction for attention of the defect |
| Breakage of helical spring | Speed restriction 30-50 km/h, depending on extent of breakage, as decided by the inspecting supervisor and informed to TLC/PCOR |
| Suspension bearing metal-out (WAM4/WAG5) | Affected wheel-set lifted with steel packing to avoid axle damage; if minor (checked by removing wick pads, oil topped up by removing white-metal chips), loco allowed LE/LA generally at 30 km/h without wheel lifting |
| Traction motor bearing seized / commutator mica out / resin-glass-steel-bending worked out | Generally the defective TM's pinion is removed and loco runs ready for traffic with 5 TMs; if not possible, the affected wheel-set is lifted and loco moves LELA to homing shed |
| End shield or gear case crack/loose | ALF/trip shed attends the defect to the extent possible in trip shed; if not fully rectifiable, loco allowed LELA with suitable speed restriction to homing shed |
| Bogie crack | ALF trip shed/supervisor examines and decides the LELA speed to homing shed |
Other locomotive defects that prevent the loco from working are sent dead, attached to a goods or passenger train, per operating feasibility.
Real Km-per-Failure & Specific Electricity Consumption (SEC) Formulas
- Engine km per failure = Total engine km earned by ALL locos of the shed during a month ÷ Total number of STATISTICAL failures during the month (non-statistical/Category-II failures are excluded). Computed from the PCOR/TLC hourly loco-movement chart; the speedometer's month-start-to-month-end reading difference is an alternative but less dependable if the speedometer goes defective mid-run. On a division (territorial) basis, the same ratio is calculated for ALL locos working the division (any shed/railway), classified statistical/non-statistical in consultation with the Sr.DOM — generally computed for a 10-day or monthly period.
- Specific Electricity Consumption (SEC) = amount of electricity used moving a 1000-tonne load for 1 km = Total electricity consumed ÷ (tonnage of train × km travelled). Real component formulas: GTKM for freight, Kg = Tg × Dg (Tg=total goods tonnage, Dg=total distance in km). GTKM for passenger/mail/express, Kp = Tp × Dp — real specified energy-consumption benchmark from trials is about 18 kWh per 1000 GT-km for passenger/mail-express services. Real electricity consumed during shunting operations is taken as a flat 3% of total electricity consumption (since shunting engines don't haul point-to-point loads the same way); so SEC for goods services is only calculated monthly, with other consumption taken per the fixed guideline.
Real factors affecting specific energy consumption: (a) Distance between stops — more stops/starts waste energy; mail/express/passenger stops are fixed, but goods trains run on a proper (unobstructed) path avoid unnecessary halts. (b) Gradient — up-gradients cost more energy; down-gradient coasting saves electricity significantly. (c) Speed — the real train-resistance formula R = A + BV + CV² (R=train resistance, V=speed, A/B/C=constants) shows resistance rises with the SQUARE of speed, so running faster needs disproportionately more energy.
- Real 4 economical-energy-use steps initiated by divisions: (1) switching off MVMTs for mail/express/passenger trains if the halt is 5 minutes or more. (2) Coasting boards guide the LP on bringing the master controller (MP) to neutral and coasting the train as much as possible. (3) Switching off the DJ (loco's main line switch/circuit breaker) in the yard while a loco waits for load or crew. (4) Ordering goods trains only when a clear path is available, to avoid frequent stop/start.
Daily Position of TRO Officers — Real 9-Item Report
TLC/PCOR and crew controller prepare a real daily position each morning covering the prior calendar day, sent to TRO officials.
- 1) Unusual occurrence of loco — loco number/base, last schedule/trip-inspection date, LP+LI name, train number/load, section, loco-trouble description + crew/TLC/LI action, and (for mail/express/passenger failures) time lost/gained plus handover/takeover times.
- 2) Crew unusual — trains detained for crew unavailability/late arrival/relief demand (over-hours, sickness etc.), recorded with crew name, train no./load, station, detention, description, and reason+responsibility.
- 3) Loco statistics — the daily 4A statement, plus loco numbers under repair (with reason), forecast of loco readiness, engine utilisation by service, freight locos used on coaching, average goods-engine holding, total ineffective locos, LELA/dead movements, actual vs target outage, goods-train ordering detail (section-wise ordered vs run with shortfall reasons, next-24-hour forecast, stabled-goods-train locations, and section-wise cases of LP duty bursting past a real 10-hour limit).
- 4) Punctuality position (mail/express/passenger): real fields SN/Train No./Taken over in division/Handed over in division/time-loss-or-gain details with reasons.
- 5) Late-start summary of major yards: real 10-column format — SN/Loco No./Train No./Arrival of train in yard/Outgoing driver's time/Ordering time/EOL/Load ready with/Depart to yard/Reasons for detention — reviewed in regular yard meetings by senior supervisors and divisional officers.
- 6) Loco link of coaching services — loco numbers nominated for mail/express/passenger trains per the loco link, with loco-changing decisions for scheduled/unscheduled repair made in consultation with the homing shed or neighbouring division's shed.
- 7) Overdue schedule position — 2 real sub-tables: 'Overdue locos of shed of OWN division' (last schedule inspection, division/railway where working, remarks) and 'Overdue locos of shed of OTHER division' (last schedule inspection, train no./section, remarks) — TLC/COR action noted in the remarks column for each.
- 8) Locos running with defect — real format SN/Loco/Type of Defect/Action Taken, watching timely withdrawal before failure. Real typical defects a loco is allowed to run with before withdrawal at a suitable station: isolated TMs, defective speedometer, isolated air-flow relays (real relay names Q118, QVMT, QPH etc.), DJ tripping without apparent cause, MP/EEC not responding, HQQP in OFF position, HOBA in OFF condition, one pantograph isolated.
- 9) Crew position — depot-wise: depot name, sanctioned strength of LP/ALP/shunter, men on roll, staff absent (leave, medical exam, sickness, under training, under road learning, under suspension, unauthorised absence), staff on line at 00 hrs, staff available at 00 hrs, staff under rest at 00 hrs, average HQ rest of LP, average outstation rest of LP, LPs used on special duty. Real note: these are the 10 real items of the daily position, but more detail can be added per local working conditions.
Real Important Operating Statistics Terminology
- Line capacity — the maximum number of trains that can be moved through a section in 24 hours. Real formula: Line capacity = [(24×60)/(t+5")] × Efficiency of operation, where t = running time of the SLOWEST train in the block section where it is maximum, and a real 5-minute (5") allowance covers line-clear granting time during crossing/precedence. Real efficiency of operation is generally taken as 70% to 80%. Real factors affecting line capacity: track condition, gradient/curves, level crossings, block-section length, running-loop length, train speed, signalling/interlocking system.
- Wagon turn round (Wt) — time interval between a wagon picking up a load and its next availability for loading; a lower figure means better operating efficiency. Real formula: Wt = T1 + T1tt + Tu + Tett (T1=loading time, T1tt=loaded transit time, Tu=unloading time, Tett=empty transit time). Real alternate formula, in days: Wagon turn round = Effective average daily wagon holding ÷ (Average no. of wagons loaded daily + Average wagons received daily from other Divisions/Railways).
- Isolation — a valuable railway-operation safety device: a line is 'isolated' from an adjacent line when no movement on either can affect the other; sidings/non-running lines must be isolated from running lines. Real 3 means of isolation: (i) Trap point/derailing switch — a single switch-rail point isolating one line from another; efficient/economical, but traps and derails the vehicle. (ii) Snag dead end — the running/loop line is extended into a dead end + crossover; a wagon slipping from the loop enters the dead end and gets trapped rather than rolling onto the main line. (iii) Sand hump — a short siding of approved design terminating in a sanded hump, real length generally 50 metres, connected to a running line in conjunction with a crossover, also giving the distance needed for lowering the approach signal.