Officers and Supervisors Proceeding to Site
On receipt of information about an OHE breakdown, JE/SSE (OHE) and DEE/ADEE (TrD) shall proceed by the QUICKEST AVAILABLE means to the accident scene. Sr.DEE(TrD) should also proceed to site if circumstances require personal supervision/direction. In the event of a MAJOR breakdown likely to interrupt traffic for MORE THAN 12 HOURS, CEDE should also proceed to site to supervise restoration.
Restoration of traffic after an accident/breakdown is the responsibility of the DIVISION AS A WHOLE — the Electrical Department officer in-charge should seek assistance from Engineering, Traffic, or other officers as necessary, and keep the DRM fully posted. Assistance from a NEIGHBOURING DIVISION's OHE gangs may be sought via ADEE(TRD) or Sr.DEE/DEE(TRD) — officers receiving such requests should treat them as of UTMOST IMPORTANCE.
Communication & Site Assessment
The Officer/Supervisor in-charge of repair work must maintain CONTINUOUS communication with TPC — an intelligent person should be posted to man the nearest emergency telephone socket continuously, since the emergency telephone circuit has NO PROVISION for TPC to ring the site — field staff must stay on-call until service is fully restored.
The FIRST Supervisor/Officer reaching site makes a quick assessment of damage extent and restoration time, ascertains from TPC what gangs/equipment are already dispatched, and requests additional resources if warranted — isolation and repair work should START in the meanwhile, without waiting for these details to be finalized. In MAJOR breakdowns affecting main-line traffic, Sr.DOM/DOM of the Division should PERSONALLY take over traffic-regulation arrangements.
Preservation of Evidence & Safety Rules
When a pantograph gets entangled with OHE, it is often DIFFICULT to establish whether the fault originated in the pantograph or the OHE. The first Electrical Department Officer/Supervisor at such a site must make a careful note of ALL relevant details, prepare a sketch, and arrange for preservation of evidence useful for investigating the cause.
While speed is essential in emergency working, safe-working rules must NEVER be infringed — repair work may commence ONLY after an emergency power block has been obtained and all other staff-protection precautions taken. On completion, the power block is cancelled per prescribed procedure.
Temporary Repairs, Diesel Clearance & the Wiring Train
Initial repairs should be kept to the BAREST MINIMUM necessary for restoring traffic with least delay — work proceeding simultaneously at many points. After temporary repairs, the Officer/Supervisor in-charge should personally check the whole area, impose necessary speed restrictions, and arrange permanent repairs at the earliest opportunity. If restoration of electric traction is unlikely soon, the line should be cleared for DIESEL TRACTION as soon as possible, with full staff-protection precautions once diesel traction is introduced.
- Interference with OHE during restoration: breakdown staff are FORBIDDEN to disturb OHE masts or cut OHE conductors except under specific orders of Sr.DEE(TrD)/DEE(TrD). Indiscriminate cutting of conductors necessitates splices, which harm current collection and delay restoration.
- The wiring train (for extensive OHE damage) consists of: a stores-cum-tool van, a workshop van, a staff-and-kitchen van, a reel wagon (one drum catenary wire, one drum contact wire), a wagon loaded with temporary-diversion materials, a BFR loaded with structures, a hand-operated crane for mast erection, a power car with two diesel generator sets (workshop power/lighting), two brake vans, adequate OHE material, and flood-lights with trailing cables. The vans have side-railed platforms for roof working.
Temporary Diversion Structure — Full Construction Detail
When derailments/accidents require temporary diversions (to clear traffic on non-electric traction while resuming electric traction quickly, without waiting for the main line to be recommissioned), a specific portal-type structure is used — genuinely detailed, real construction specifications:
- Portal structures are made from 80mm diameter GI pipes using two right-angled 'T' joints. Guys are used both perpendicular and parallel to the track for extra safety against heavy wind load.
- The contact wire is suspended via special MS-flat fittings from the catenary wire stretched between the two uprights, insulated by TWO 9-TONNE INSULATORS.
- The 80mm GI pipes sit inside 150mm diameter MS pipes, welded onto a 10mm thick, 450mm × 450mm MS base plate — bolted with 10mm diameter through-bolts to a 4880mm long crossing sleeper placed UNDER THE RAILS. The rail's own weight keeps the crossing sleeper (and thereby the structure) in place.
- The gap between the 80mm and 150mm pipes is wedged with wooden wedges, filled with sand, and covered with bituminous compound to prevent GI pipe rusting from water seepage through the sand.
- Since the whole structure attaches directly to the track, tilting/sinking from shrinkage or settlement of the temporary unconsolidated embankment is ELIMINATED.
- The contact wire is anchored at BOTH ends at a height of 6M on existing masts, with 'fly guys' from anchor mast to the base of the next mast — meaning NO SEPARATE FOUNDATION is needed for anchoring, and the guy can be removed easily during dismantling.
| Advantage of This Construction | Detail |
|---|---|
| Cheap | Low-cost materials |
| Light | Structures weigh LESS THAN 150 kg — 4 men can erect or dismantle them easily |
| Fast to erect | No foundation excavation needed, so no time lost |
| Reusable | Can be dismantled and re-erected at new sites quickly |
| No extra speed restriction | Traffic moves at the permanent-way-imposed speed restriction only |
| Easily sourced | Materials/fabrications are easily manufactured in workshops and stocked at depots for emergency use |
Temporary Speed Restrictions — Real Timelines by Damage Type
| Damage Type | Speed Restriction | Time to Full Restoration |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary mast provided (foundation needs 5-6 days curing before OHE shifts to it) | 15-40 kmph (per site conditions) | ~10 days from imposition (subject to block availability) |
| Mast bent (straightened using tirfor) | 30-60 kmph (per site conditions/stagger profile) | 3-4 days |
| Extensive OHE damage from panto entanglement, masts unaffected (attended with temporary droppers) | 30-60 kmph (per site conditions) | ~4 days (subject to extent of damage and block availability) |
Funds, Logging & Final Precautions
Funds for breakdowns may be drawn from STATION EARNINGS (per Para 714, Indian Railways Permanent Way Manual) — for daily labour payment, tools/materials not suppliable in time by Stores, and food for engineering labour at the accident/breach site (free food is permitted in special circumstances, at Administration discretion, within a prescribed per-head-per-day expenditure limit). The Accounts Officer must be advised IMMEDIATELY BY TELEGRAM of each sum drawn; a clear receipt stating the purpose is required; a complete account with pay sheets/vouchers is submitted at the earliest date; all labour payments are witnessed by the Assistant Engineer at site.
- Log of events: in all MAJOR breakdowns, TPC and senior officials/officers must maintain a detailed diary log (time + brief details) to help fix responsibility for any avoidable delay in restoration.
- DRM must submit a detailed report to CEE/COM covering: nature of breakdown with sketch; chronological restoration action; traffic repercussions and estimated repair cost; cause and staff responsible (if any); and an OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS of time taken, with measures proposed for future improvement.
- Protection of staff: work commences only after a power block is obtained; hand-signals per GR/SR must be exhibited, particularly when the affected/adjacent lines are NOT blocked for other traffic.
- Use of cranes: crane movements must be carefully controlled to stay CLEAR OF LIVE OHE BY 2 METRES, in addition to preventing infringement of adjacent unblocked tracks.