STEEL BRIDGE ISSUES ON

S.E. RAILWAYS
Jogesh S. Sondhi IRSE
Chief Bridge Engineer
S E Railways

NATIONAL SEMINAR
Organized by:

The Indian Institute

of Metals , Kolkata
Chapter
 USE OF STEEL FOR INDIAN
RAILWAY BRIDGES
 USE OF STEEL STARTED IN THE INITIAL
DEVELOPMENT PHASE DURING 1870-1890s & HAS
CONTINUED WITH GREAT MOMENTUM

 EVEN THOUGH CONCRETE BRIDGES HAVE BEEN

ADOPTED FOR SMALL TO MEDIUM SPANS ON IR
BEGINNING 1960s,

STEEL HAS REMAINED A PREDOMINANT

MATERIAL IN LAST 125 YEARS IN
CONSTRUCTION, REBUILDING & REHABILITATION

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 BACKGROUND & CHALLENGES
RAILWAY BRIDGES :
- AXLE & LONGITUDINAL LOADS MUCH HIGHER COMPARED
TO HIGHWAY LOADS

- BRIDGE LOADING STANDARDS evolved since 1903 –

BGML(1926), RBG(1975), MBG(1987), HM(1995)

- ALL EARLY STEEL GIRDERS(prior to 1905) HAVE BEEN

UNDERTAKEN FOR REPLACEMENT UNDER “SRSF” PROGRAM

- MANY EXISTING STEEL BRIDGES STILL CONFORM TO BGML

STANDARDS, NOW SUBJECTED TO HEAVY AXLE LOADS &
HIGHER LONGITUDINAL LOADS

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 PROFILE of IR BRIDGES
 POPULATION - 1,20,000 on 64,000 Route Km -
10,000 are Important / Major Bridges
 TYPES
STEEL – PLATE DECK, OPEN WEB (Truss Type) - 20%
ARCH – BRICK or STONE MASONRY - 19%
(BUILT TO EARLIER BRIDGE STANDARDS) COMPOSITE- STEEL PLATE
OR OPEN WEB WITH CONCRETE DECK
SLAB, PIPE CULVERTS -23%+19 %
OTHERS -19%
 AGE WISE PROFILE ON INDIAN RAILWAYS
> 100 YEARS - 44 %
> 80 YEARS - 62 %
> 75 YEARS - 75 %

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 SE Railway – The Blue Chip Railway
CC+8+2 Iron Ore Routes; 73MT after Trifurcation

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 Bridge Scenario on Iron Ore Routes
– SE RAILWAY
Bridge Distribution on Iron Ore Route
7000
6614
6170 TOTAL SER ROUTE 2521 Route Km
6000
IRON ORE ROUTES on SE Rly
5000 Existing Routes: 1368 Km ( 54%)
4000
Proposed Routes: 456.5 Km (18%)

3000
2245 %)
4 8 (37
24
2000

1000 430 CC+8+2 BOXN, IRON Ore Route

14 199
0
4
Total on SER
Imp. Major Minor TOTAL

TYPE STEEL ARCH RCC BOX FLAT TOP RAIL OPENING OTHERS
TOTAL 313 1235 42 1945 104 662

 STEEL GIRDER BRIDGES - 313 Nos. of

SPANS: 20’,40’,60’,80’,100’,150’ & 300’
 For all Bridges, about 1268Nos. > 100 YEARS
SE Railway 780 Nos. ~ 80-100 YEARS OLD 6
 BACKGROUND & CHALLENGES
FITNESS ASSESMENT OF BRIDGES

- OVER THESE YEARS , THE BRIDGES HAVE BEEN ANNUALLY INSPECTED FOR SERVICE
OPERATION & FITNESS ASSESMENT PRIMARILY ON VISUAL INSPECTION &
ENGINEERING JUDGEMENT BASIS

- ASSESMENT OF BRIDGES AS REGARDS “LOAD CARRYING CAPACITY” NOT DONE IN THE PAST
THROUGH INSTRUMENTATION EXCEPT FOR
A FEW CASES OF BRIDGES WHERE DETERIORATION OR REPLACEMENT DECISION
NECESSITATED INSTRUMENTATION

- BRIDGE CONDITION MONITORING BEING ADOPTED FOR HEAVY AXLE LOAD (23t) OPERATIONS

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 BACKGROUND & CHALLENGES
DEFICIENCIES OF EXISTING BRIDGES
STEEL SPANS : EARLY STEEL mfg. prior to 1905 (higher Sulphur,
Phosphorus) IS PRONE TO SUDDEN RUPTURE AND FAILURE.
 Old Age Steel Girders subjected to higher Axle/Stresses- Fatigue
 SUB-STRUCTURE, FOUNDATION: OLD PIERS AND ABUTMENTS BUILT
IN STONE/ BRICK MASONRY ARE OVER 60-80 YEARS OLD &
SUBJECTED TO HIGHER STRESSES UNDER MULTIPLE LOCO AND
HEAVIER AXLE LOAD OPERATION.
 Scour & Degradation OF OLD FOUNDATIONS
- MATTER OF CONCERN.
 CORROSION RESISTANCE IN AGGRESSIVE/ COASTAL ENVIRONMENT.

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 STEEL & RELATED ADVANTAGES
ADVANTAGES OF STEEL FOR BRIDGES:     
 STEEL IS EQUALLY STRONG IN COMPRESSION AND
TENSION- BETTER SUITED FOR FATIGUE RESISTANCE
 STEEL HAS ASSURED YIELD STRENGTH AND IS A
DUCTILE MATERIAL.
 STEEL IS AN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCT AND PRODUCED
UNDER SUPERIOR QUALITY CONTROL CONDITIONS.
 BECAUSE OF HIGHER STRENGTH TO WEIGHT RATIO,
STEEL BRIDGES ARE LIGHTER VIS-À-VIS CONCRETE
BRIDGES.
 STEEL BRIDGE SUPERSTRUCTURES ARE BETTER
SUITED IN EARTHQUAKE PRONE AREAS DUE TO LIGHTER
WEIGHT STRUCTURE, AND BETTER DUCTILITY
CHARACTERISTICS.
 BETTER FATIGUE RESISTANT MATERIAL; IT IS BETTER
SUITED FOR REPETITIVE LOAD AND DYNAMIC EFFECTS.
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FACTORS INFLUENCING USE OF STEEL IN
CONSTRUCTION
COST
PRODUCT RANGE
COLD ROLLED SECTION
FABRICATION
CONSTRUCTION
DURABILITY
NON-AVAILABILITY OF SECTIONS
VERSATILITY
STRENGTH
ARCHITECTURAL REQUIREMENT AND
AESTHETIC APPEAL
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 SALIENT FEATURES OF STEEL USE
- RAIL BRIDGES
. GRADE OF STEEL AS PER RDSO’S SPECIFICATION
NO. B1-2001
 GRADE-A: IS 2062 GRADE “A” AS ROLLED SEMI-KILLED
OR KILLED TO BE USED FOR FOOT OVER BRIDGES AND
OTHER STRUCTURES SUBJECTED TO NON-CRITICAL
LOADING.
GRADE-B: IS 2062 GRADE “B” FULLY KILLED AND
NORMALIZED/CONTROLLED–COOLED, WHERE SERVICE
TEMPERATURE DOES NOT FALL BELOW 00 C , SHALL BE
USED FOR WELDED/RIVETED GIRDERS SUBJECTED TO
RAILWAY LOADING. PLATES LESS THAN 12 MM THICK NEED
NOT BE NORMALIZED/CONTROLLED-COOLED .
 GRADE-C: IS 2062 GRADE “C” FULLY KILLED AND
NORMALIZED/CONTROLLED-COOLED, ENSURING IMPACT
PROPERTIES AT (-) 200 C OR (-) 400 C

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 SALIENT FEATURES OF STEEL USE
…..
. MANUFACTURING PROCESS at Steel Plants
SEMI, FULLY KILLED PROCESS: DONE IN LIMITED
LOTS FOR PLATES BEING PRODUCED. NORMALLY NOT
BEING DONE FOR ANGLE SECTIONS IN STEEL PLANTS

NORMALIZED OR CONTROLLED COOL: NORMALIZED

IS PREFERRED BUT CURRENTLY NOT BEING DONE BY
STEEL PLANTS; MOST OF THE SECTIONS AVAILABLE
ARE CONTROLLED COOL.
 

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 AVAILABILITY OF STEEL SECTIONS
MOST COMMONLY USED STEEL SECTIONS:
• ANGLES:125X75X8 MM, 75X75X8 MM, 150X150X16,
100X100X10 MM , 100X75X8XMM
• CHANNELS: 300X90 MM , 250X82 MM
• PLATES: 10 MM , 16 MM , 18 MM , 25 MM , 28 MM THICK

SECTIONS GENERALLY NOT AVAILABLE WITH

STEEL MANUFACTURERS:
 ANGLES: 150X150X10 MM, 125X95X12 MM
 CHANNELS: 400X100 MM, 450X150 MM , 300X90 MM
 Grade B Sections & PLATES: Fully Killed & Normalized

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 QUANTITIES OF STEEL FOR GIRDERs
o
        Assessed Quantities of Steel required for different spans :
     18.3 m Plate Girder - 16.7 MT
12.2m - 11.9 MT

Summary of quantities of steel used for Steel girder bridges

from 2003-04 till December 2005 on SE Railway
Year By Dept. Trade- MT Total Wt of
W/ Shop- Steel- MT
  MT
2003-04 405 34 439
2004-05 701 217 918
2005-06(9mths) 295 210 505

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 MARVEL BRIDGES on Indian Railways
Longest Span Bridge on I.Railway

Jogigopa Bridge
Opened April 1998
 18x 125m each +
2x32.6m
 Warren Type Open Web
Truss with Concrete Road
Deck at mid level
 Each span of 120m
weighs 1600MT
 Total Steel 10,345 MT
mild steel
 18840MT Fabricated High
Jogigopa Rail-cum-Road Bridge over Tensile Steel
Brahmaputra
Rail cum Road Bridge- 2.284 Km Long
Third Bridge over Brahmaputra by Railways
NF Railway
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 MARVEL BRIDGES on Indian Railways
EARLY BRIDGE on Eastern Railway
Jubilee Bridge
Built 1855
 Central Span of 360’ on
two larger spans of 420’
resting on overhanging
ends of central span and
abutment ends
 Wrought Iron Bridge
 Truss with curved top
chord
 Piers on Well Foundation

Jubilee Bridge- Over Hoogly River near

Bandel, Eastern Railway

Marvel of Elegant Design, workmanship and

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 MARVEL BRIDGES on Indian Railways
Earliest Rail-cum -road on Indian Subcontinent
MalviyaBridge
Built 1885
 (7x 350’ + 9x 110’)
 Rail cum road
 First of its kind in Indian
Sub-continent
 Open web Truss
 Masonry Piers on Well
Foundation

Malviya Bridge: across Ganga

Near Varanasi

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 MARVEL BRIDGES on Indian Railways
Longest Bridge (and span) on SE Railway

Rupnarain Bridge
UP LINE; Built 1966
 (4x 100’ + 7x 300’)
 K Type Truss
 Masonry Piers on Well
Foundation

MID LINE BRIDGE Built in

1929

Rupnarain Bridge: UP Line

on Howrah – Kharagpur Section

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 MARVEL BRIDGES on Indian Railways

Cosseye Bridge
Built 1896
 16x 100’ Underslung
Spans
 Underslung Girders of
pre 1905 steel
 Shown good corrosion
resistance

 Masonry Piers on Well

Foundation- standing
well

Cosseye Bridge (Single Line Bridge)

on Kharagpur- Midnapur Section.

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 MARVEL BRIDGES on Indian Railways

Bridge No. 414 DN

Built 1964
 7x100’
 Underslung Girders
 Masonry Piers on Well
Foundation

Br 414 DN near Purulia.

On Iron Ore Route- to be Monitored for Heavy Axle
load Effects

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 MARVEL BRIDGES - USA

Longest Steel Arch Span in the World !!

Cosseye Bridge
Built 1931
 Arch- 1675 ft

 511m span Arch

Bayonne Bridge
The Bayonne Bridge connects Bayonne
(New Jersey) and Staten Island (New York)
with a manganese-steel parabolic two-
hinged arch of 1675ft (511m) span and
266ft (81m) rise, the deck clearing high
water by 150ft (46m).
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 INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES USED FOR
LAUNCHING OF GIRDERS

Br 284 (13 x 60’): 60’ Steel Girder ( 25 MT) regirdering

done using two Road Crawler Cranes near Bankura, ADRA
Division.
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 INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES USED FOR
LAUNCHING OF GIRDERS

Regirdering of Br 403 DN ( 1X60’+2X40’+2X20’)

On Adra – Gomoh Section done using 140T Rly. BD Crane

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 Railway Board’s –Vision
 Mission 700 MT Freight Loading : 2005-06
 As Pilot Project permit (CC+8+2) Loaded BOXN on Select
Iron Ore Routes, D/H & Multiple Loco ops.
 Approach – Pilot Project - 1 Year
( Axle Load BOXN 21.2t to 22.9t)
– Design Checks - Track & Bridges
– Observe the Physical Condition,
– Instrument & Monitor
 Conclude from Monitoring & Decide for
Increase in Axle loads to 25t

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 PILOT PROJECT FOR CC+8+2 BOXN
WAGON OPERATION
S.E. ZONAL RAILWAY CATERS TO IRON ORE ORIGINATING LOADS
FOR MAJOR STEEL PLANTS, & EXPORT ORE LOADS TILL PORTS .
PILOT PROJECT FOR BOX’N CC+8+2 WAGON OPERATION ON
SELECT IRON ORE ROUTES, WITH 8 TONNES ADDITIONAL PAYLOAD
OVER CARRYING CAPACITY (CC):
THE TRACK AND BRIDGES ARE SUBJECTED TO HIGHER TRACTIVE/
BRAKING FORCES AND HIGHER TRAILING AXLE LOADS ( ~22.9T AXLE
LOAD). MOST OF THE THESE BRIDGES WERE BUILT TO THE EARLIER
BRIDGE LOADING STANDARDS OF 1903 & 1926.

STEEL GIRDER BRIDGES BUILT IN EARLY PERIOD NEED CLOSER

LOOK BEING SUBJECTED TO HIGHER TRAILING LOADS (MORE THAN
7.67 T/M),
DUE TO INCREASED BRAKING/ TRACTIVE FORCES ON ACCOUNT OF
HEAVY LOADED WAGONS AND HEAVY HAUL LOCOS IN MULTIPLE
OPERATION.

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 BRIDGE LOADING STANDARDS FOR
BG ON I Rly
Loading Year Max. Axle Trailing Long. Force (t)
Std. Load Engine Load
Tractive Braking Force
(t) (t/m)
Effort (t)

Std. B 1903 18.0 1.20 t/ft - -

BGML 1926 22.9 7.67 47.6 10% of T.L.

RBG 1975 22.9 7.67 75 20% of T.L.

MBG 1987 25 8.25 100 20% of T.L.

or 25% of
Axle Load.
HM 1995 30 12.00 135 13.4% of T.L.

Bridge Loading Standards on Indian Railways

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 ROLLING STOCK & AXLE LOADs

Wagon C.Capacity Max Axle Trailing Remarks

Type Tonnes (t) Load (t ) Load t/m
BOY/ BOBS 91.6 22.9 7.68  

BOBS (CC+4) 95.6 23.9 8.01 TLD less than

MBG (8.25t/m)
BOXNHA 81.28 20.32 8.25 TLD same as
MBG
BOXN 81.28 20.32 7.59 TLD less than
MBG (8.25t/m)
BOXN 91.28 22.82 8.52 TLD exceeds
(CC+8+2) MBG

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 Instrumentation of A Truss Span

CRRI/ CSIR Lab Approach

 Strain Gauges- Truss, Arch
 Tiltmeter, ATR- Piers,
Abutments
 Accelerometer- at Truss joints
 Optical Targets- Tilts
 Can adapt Road WIMS to Rail

Tracks- later stage

SPL. EXPERTISE AT CRRI
Bridge Engineers available
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 Bridge Load Station -Monitoring System
N
6' 34' 6'

CRIB 4N CRIB 3 N CRIB 2N CRIB 1N

CRIB 4S CRIB 3S CRIB 2S CRIB 1S

CO NDUIT

AEI TAG READ ER

BUNGALO W

Load Sensors Information Flow

(Strain Gauges) TRACK HUT SER OFFICE
OFF-SITE SERVER
Signal Conditioning Incoming Files

Data Acquisition Database

Wireless

Data Processing
Web Server
Data Packaging & Transfer

DAC COMPUTER User

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 Agency 2- Truss Span: Instrumentation
Plan

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Bridge 3D Analysis & Strain Record of a
Diagonal member

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 CONCLUSIONS
 STEEL – A favoured option for Rail Bridges; Higher Axle Loads
 Need on IR to Monitor & augment bridges for higher Axle Load
Operations
 Residual Fatigue Life of Steel Bridges- Major Issue
 Pioneering Efforts ON IR- SE Railway -As part of Railway Safety
Enhancement Strategy, a large no. of old Early Steel Girder bridges being
rehabilitated by new steel girders under SRSF .
 Replacement Costing v/s Rehab. of Assets
 STEEL Industry to act in Symbiosis Mode with Railways
 High Performance Steel – Strength, corrosion resistance required

 Availability of desired Grade-B, Normalized type sections

 Gear up to supply better quality, high strength and durable

quality steel with lesser lead time

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 THANK YOU

Acknowledgements due
Organisers- IIM, Kolkata;
Shri PK Patra, EE
&
Bridge Staff – SE Railway

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 Pilot Project: BOX’N (CC+8+2)
on IRON ORE ROUTES- SE Rly

BOX’N CC+8+2 Operation

(CC+8+2) = 68.81 t
Tare + 22.47 t
One BOXN = 91.28 t

58 Nos BOXN = 5294.24 t

DH Loco(123X2) = 246.00 t
Brake Van + 10.00 t
TOTAL TRAIN LOAD= 5550.24 t

IRON ORE ROUTES on SE Rly

Existing Routes: 1368 Km ( 54%)

Proposed Routes: 456.5Km (18%)
TOTAL ROUTE 2521 Route Km

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 PILOT PROJECT FOR CC+8+2 WAGON
OPERATION
WAGON AXLE LOADS NOW APPROACHING MAXIMUM
PERMISSIBLE AXLE LOAD OF BRIDGE LOADING STANDARDS,
THE BRIDGES ARE SUBJECTED TO INCREASED NUMBER OF
LOAD CYCLE REPETITIONS AT HIGHER STRESS RANGE.
CONSIDERATION FOR FATIGUE FAILURE ASSESSMENT IS
NOW A MAJOR ISSUE.
FOR THE PILOT PROJECT FOR BOX’N CC+8+2 OPERATION,
CONCURRENT BRIDGE INSTRUMENTATION AND CONDITION
MONITORING HAS BEEN UNDERTAKEN WITH AN IDEA TO
DETERMINE EXTENT OF OVERSTRESSING IN MEMBERS,
INCREASED DYNAMIC EFFECTS OF HIGHER AXLE LOADS,
DISTRESS DEVELOPED IN BRIDGES IF ANY; AND INHERENT
CAPACITY OF THE BRIDGES TO CARRY HIGHER AXLE LOADS.

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 CONCLUSIONS
 Enhanced need to ascertain the State of Health of the
aging (steel) bridges and ascertain possibility to
sustain higher axle loads.
 Validation of existing steel bridges to be done by
instrumentation and close monitoring already in practice in
heavy haul Railways like USA
 Residual Life determination a major concern for IR engineers
 As part of Railway Safety Enhancement Strategy, a large no.
of old Early Steel Girder bridges being rehabilitated by
providing new steel girders under SRSF .
 Indian Steel Industry to act in symbiosis mode and gear up to
supply better quality, high strength and durable quality steel
with lesser lead time

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 QUANTITY OF STEEL USED IN SE
RAILWAY
         :
         

Year Nos by Nos by Sini Weight of Weight of Total

Trade W/S steel used by steel used Weig
Contract by Sini W/S ht
Agencies (MT)
40’ 60’ 20’ 40’ 40’ 60’ 20’ 40’

2003-04 0 2 0 34 0 33.42 0 405. 439.1

72 4

 
  2004-05 0 13 2 58 0 217.2 9.56 692. 918.9
3 11

2005-06 (9 4 10 2 24 47.73 167.1 9.56 286. 510.7

mths) 39 82

Total 4 25 4 116 47.73 417.7 19.1 1384 1868.

5 2 .2 82

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