ITEM PROPOSED BY RDSO FOR CTE’s SEMINAR TO BE HELD ON 30-31.05.

2019

1) Adoption of 6mm thick Nylon Cord Reinforced GRSP (RT-7014-7021) (Proposed

by RDSO)

ISSUE:

All Zonal Railways were asked to carry out the trial of 6mm thick Nylon Cord
Reinforced GRSP under normal CMS crossing.

DISCUSSIONS:

Railway Board vide letter no. Track-I/212007/0401/07 dated 30.07.2007 desired to

use Nylon Cord Reinforced Elastomeric Pads for weldable CMS crossing due to better
wear & tear resistance properties as it has two layer of reinforcement with treated
nylon cord & thin layer of rubber in between which is better product compared to the
ordinary rubber sole plates.
Accordingly, the specification of Nylon Cord Reinforced Grooved Rubber Sole Plate, No.
RDSO/M&C/RP-201/2007 was prepared and put up under item no. 1126 & 1145 of
79th TSC for approval by Railway Board & circulated to all zonal Railways for
procurement to use under normal CMS crossing.
As Railway Board’s order on 79th TSC, a copy of specification of Nylon Cord
Reinforced GRSP was sent to all Zonal Railways for procurement to use under normal
CMS crossing. This item was also discussed in 80th TSC, in which Railway Board has
approved the trial of 6mm thick nylon cord reinforced GRSP under CMS crossings
shall be in all Zonal Railways.
All Zonal Railways were asked vide letter dated 19/24.05.2010 to carry out the trial.
Accordingly, based upon successful lab testing of prototype of pads RDSO has
shortlisted total 15 firms for procurement of trial quantity and have been advised to
Zonal railways, vide this office letter dated 21.03.2011, 13.05.2011, 22/25.07.2011,
24/25.11.2011, 04/07.05.2012, 23/30.07.2012 & 18.05.2016 for procurement of
trial quantity of Nylon Cord Reinforced GRSP.
Item was also discussed in 85th TSC and Zonal railways have been asked to expedite
trial and send status/ performance to RDSO. Railway Board approved
recommendations of 85th TSC on the above item that Zonal Railways shall expedite
trial of all items under trial and send status/ performance to RDSO with instructions
that trial status shall be discussed in CTE’s seminars. Railway Board further approved
to close this item from TSC.
Now sufficient data is available on the performance of fastening components i.e. Nylon
cord reinforced GRSP for turnouts (For trial in all zonal railways). Hence, status of trial
of these items is put up for deliberation in the CTEs Seminar.
The status of trial as per railways report is as per Annexure I. As per the trial scheme,
the trial was for a period of one year and was planned to be continued beyond one
year if desired so to judge the cost effectiveness of this item.
From the above status of in-service performance as reported by zonal railways, it is
inferred that the trial has already been conducted for more than one year in NCR, SR,
SCR, WR & WCR and received mixed performance of this item.
In view of above, it is requested to deliberate and make suitable recommendations for
further continuation/closure of trial or adoption of the above item i.e. Nylon cord
reinforced GRSP for turnouts on IR.
2) Improved SEJ of SG80 Design without check rail: (Proposed by RDSO)

ISSUE: Apart from additional cost of check rails, the ISEJs with check rails
pose problem in machine packing. In addition, provision of check rail makes
the design of inner MS Brackets complicated and maintenance difficult.

DISCUSSIONS:

Therefore, RDSO proposed to deliberate the issue of “Removal of Check Rails

provided in Improved SEJ with 80 mm gap” in 85 th TSC. The issue was
deliberated in 85th TSC which recommended for carrying out trial of Improved
SEJ without check rail to assess their performance compared with those laid
with check rail in similar traffic condition. Railway Board has approved TSC
recommendations to carry out trials in CR, NR, NCR, NER and WR as per
detailed trial scheme advised by RDSO.

RDSO vide letter no. CT/JW/3 dated 11/14.03.2016 has issued details of
design of Improved SEJ without check rail, drawings for various components,
guidelines for procurement and trial scheme compiled in form of a report CT-
41 to nominated 05 Zonal Railways for undertaking field trial to assess their
performance in field.

Against WR P.O., Improved SEJ without check rail offered by M/s Rahee Track
Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad have been inspected by RDSO and for 30
sets each of 60Kg (UIC) and 52Kg as per Drg. No. RDSO/T- 8520 & RDSO/T-
8521 respectively. NER, NCR & SCR have placed P.O. against which firms have
approached RDSO. Further action is in process.

All the nominated zonal railways CR, NR, NCR, NER & WR have been requested
vide this office letter dt. 02.07.2018 and vide e-mail dt. 21.10.2018 to expedite
field trial of Improved SEJ without check rail and submit status of trial /
planning and to send performance report on standard proforma to RDSO early.

Recently, Railway Board vide letter No. 2013/TK-II/22/7/2/Gen. Policy dated

07.02.2019 has nominated SCR as a nodal agency for the purpose of procuring
the trial quantity on behalf of all the nominated Zonal Railways i.e. CR, NR,
NER, WR & NCR. Railway Board has also stated that Zonal railways who have
already invited tender may go ahead and may procure the trial fittings
themselves. SCR has been requested vide letter no CT/PTX dated 14.02.2019
to take action accordingly along with sending the status / planning for
procurement of trial items to RDSO. The above trial has also been uploaded on
TMS portal for monitoring by all concerned.

WR has sent the performance report of 3 nos. ISEJs without check rail to
RDSO drawing no. RT- 8520 laid on BRC-ST section of BRC division to this
office vide letter dated 06.03.2019. Copy or performance report is attached.
These ISEJs have been laid in August’ 2018, As per the report of WR,
performance of Improved SEJ without check rail laid has been satisfactory
3) 3) Policy for disposal of unserviceable GRSPs (Proposed by RDSO)

ISSUE:

The recommendations of the forum on Item No. 9.6 of Seminar of Chief Track Engineers
held at IRICEN Pune on 09th & 10th June 2016 have been sent to this office vide reference
above. Item No. 9.6 is an issue of CTE/NCR regarding ‘Policy for disposal of unserviceable
GRSPs’. For this item, it was recommended that “RDSO to study and make
recommendations”.
DISCUSSIONS:

In this regard, it is to mention that study for disposal of released GRSPs has already been
done by RDSO in consultation with M&C Dte. of RDSO, who have suggested certain
rubber waste management systems generally followed over the world which have been sent
to CTEs of all Zonal Railways vide this office letter of even no. dated 06/25.04.2017, to
look into the methods of disposal of rubber waste and mention the present practices /
methods being followed by their railway at present for disposal of unserviceable GRSPs as
under:
M&C Dte. of RDSO has suggested certain rubber waste management systems generally
followed over the world which are briefly summarized as under for reference:
a) Ground rubber: one method of recycling scrap rubber is to grind it as fine as possible
to produce rubber granulate and work it into new rubber as elastomeric filler. Rubber
granulates can be used for moulding of low grade rubber goods such as automobile
floor mats, shoe soles, as a modifier to asphalt, viscous filling material for filling holes
and cracks in road surfaces. Scrap rubber can alternatively be used in a number of
industrial applications e.g. road construction etc.
b) Reclaimed rubber: Reclaimed rubber is produced from vulcanised rubber granules by
breaking down the vulcanised structure using heat, chemical and mechanical
techniques. In many rubber products rubber reclaim can be added to the new rubber
content without serious effects to the physical properties.
c) Energy recovery through combustion: Rubber burns well due to hydrocarbons in the
polymer structure. However, combustion should take place in efficient, pollution free
incinerators.
d) Landfill: Landfill is the last option for disposal of waste rubber. Waste rubber can be
used in land fill if any other option is not available.
Further, all Zonal Railways were reminded vide this office letter dated 04/05.09.2017 &
22.01.2018, 17.05.2018, 08.10.2018 & 25/28.03.2019 to send comments on present
practices / method being followed by their railway for disposal of unserviceable GRSPs.
However, suggestions / comments from Zonal Railways are awaited except WR & NER.
NE Railway has stated vide their letter dated 13.06.2019 that: “On NE Railway
unserviceable GRSPs are being disposed off by land fill” and suggested that “NE Railway is
unable to adopt suggestions a) b) & c) above as there is no such system available on this
Railway.”
WR has stated vide their letter dated 06.09.2019 that: “In case of release of unserviceable
rubber pads from casual renewals, released/battered rubber pads are thrown away from
cess, which ultimately gets buried in earth and subjected to natural degradation” and
suggested that “the released unserviceable GRSPs should be dumped in underground
earthen pit at a sufficient distance from toe of embankment, covered with a layer of earth
having minimum thickness of 50cm. This will eliminate the possibility of unearthing during
routine activities in the area and help in natural degradation.”
The item is being put up for further deliberation in this CTE’s Seminar for finalisation of
suitable uniform method for disposal of unserviceable GRSPs.
 Annexure-I

Compiled Performance report of Nylon cord reinforced GRSP

SN Rly. Status of in-service performance as reported by Railways

1. CR In Nagpur division, after 7months in-service under SSE/P.Way/Chandrapur pad thickness reported on dt. 23.02.2016 as 6mm.
2. NCR Report of Allahabad division vide their letter dated 02.05.2016, 16.11.2016, 22.03.2017, 30.05.2018 & 08.04.2019
Under Trial report Thickness Crushing/ breaking of pad Remarks of Railway
SSE/PWay/ of of pad
Bharwari 27 months 3.5-4mm Crushing started -
CNB 27 months 3.5-4mm Yes Crushing seen in centre & corner portion of pad
SKB 20 months 4 to 5mm Crushed badly one side & breaking Crushed badly and run out. Hence replaced by normal GRSP.
one side.
MJA 24 months 5 to 6mm Crushing found -
MZP 24 months 2-5mm Yes The photographs of pad under joint of crossing point no. 41A, 41B, 44B, &
47B were attached in letter dated 02.05.2016, which show distortion of pads
during trial.
KGA 36months 6mm no -
PHD 11 months 5mm - Crushing seen in centre & corner
ETW 14 months 5mm - Crushing seen at centre only.

3. NR NR vide their letter dated 01.07.2011 had informed that as no weldable CMS crossing exists on NR, the trial of 6mm thick Nylon Cord Reinforced GRSP cannot be conducted. NR
has been requested to conduct trial vide this office letter dated 27.04.2016 as trial of Nylon Cord Reinforced GRSP is to be conducted on normal CMS crossing also. Further
Northern Railway has stated vide their letter dated 27.07.2018 that no such trial/ procurement of Nylon Cord Reinforced GRSP has been done by their railway.
4. NFR NFR has stated vide their letter dated 07.06.2016 that the performance so far, since their laying during June 15 have been found to be satisfactory.
5. SR In MAS division, after 14 months in-service under SSE/P.Way/MS pad thickness reported on dt. 25.09.2015 as reduced to 3.14 to 5.9mm & crushed & holes found and stated that it
is observed the performance of Nylon Cord GRSP is found far from satisfactory.
Further, Southern Railway vide their letter dated 15.06.2017 has sent approx 3years performance report of TPT, BQI, N/SA, S/SA & ED section , reported as Thickness of pad- no
change & Crushing/ Breaking of pad-no change. Also stated that the performance of the Nylon Cord reinforced GRSP for Turnouts on trial is found satisfactory. But same is not on
trial scheme format.
SR vide their letter dated 10.02.2019 has stated that Nylon Chord GRSP were laid in MJR yard on point and crossing (Point no. 50B, 51B, 64B & 65B) between km 24/0-25/500
and it was found that all the rubber pads were crushed and worked out. Hence it was replaced.
6. SCR a) Secundrabad division:
i) 34 months in-service performance report under SSE/P.Way/ALER, pad thickness reported on dt. 10.09.2018 as reduced from 6mm to 3mm.
ii) 4years 4months in-service performance report under SSE/PWay/BPA, pad thickness reported on dt. 10.09.2018 as reduced to 4mm and it has been stated that after passing
177GMT, there is starting crushing in the central portion of pad and edges also, only just starting of crushing noticed under the edge of CMS crossing.
b) Vijayawada division: 12 months in-service performance report under SSE/P. Way/TEL, pad thickness reported on dt. 24.04.2015 as reduced to 2.11-4.5mm. The photographs of
pad under joint of crossing point no. 19B, 20B, 20A,18B,11A,11B, 13B & 12B attached with the letter show distortion of pads during trial.
7. WR a) RTM division:
i) 4/9months in-service performance vide their letter dated 09.08.2016/24.12.2018 under SSE/P.Way/DHD. Slightly crushing of pads at centre & no change in thickness reported.
ii) 9 /18 months in-service performance vide their letter dated 22.05.2017/ 20.03.2018 under SSE/P.Way/PIPLOD. Slightly crushing of pads has been reported by the railway. 3
months in-service performance vide their letter dated 16.08.2018 under SSE/P.Way/PIPLOD. Thickness of pad- no change & Crushing/ Breaking of pad-no change was found
i.e satisfactory. Further, 8months in-service performance sent vide their letter dated 24.12.18 under SSE/P.Way/PIPLOD. Slightly crushing of pads at centre & no change in
thickness reported.
iii) 24 months in-service performance vide their letter dated 20.03.2018 under SSE/P.Way/Nagda. Pad thickness reported as 4 to 5mm. Further, 33 months performance reported
as crushing in centre & thickness of pad 4 to 5mm.
iv) One week in-service performance under SSE/P.Way/MGN. No changes was found. v) 6months in-service performance under SSE/PW/JAO. Satisfactory performance
reported. vi) 3 months in-service performance under SSE/PW/BCH. Vii) No changes was found. One week in-service performance under SSE/PW/NMH. No changes was
found. Viii) 3 months in-service performance under SSE/SE/P.Way/ SEHORE. No changes was found.
b) ADI division:
i) 4months in-service performance vide their letter dated 09.08.2016 under SSE/P.Way/ADI
ii) 14months in-service satisfactory performance reported vide their letter dated 23.06.2017 under SSE/P.Way/VG.
c) BRC Div.
i) 6months in-service performance vide their letter dated 06.03.2019 under SSE/P.Way/S/BH
ii) 6months in-service performance vide their letter dated 06.03.2019 under SSE/P.Way/GDA
d) BCT Div.:
i) 4months in-service performance vide their letter dated 11.04.2019 under SSE/P.Way/NVS.
8. WCR Report received through TMS portal of Indian railway as under:
i) Station: HBD, MIG & ODG, Laying on January 2018, Thickness of pad 6.0mm. Remarks as very good with no sign of cracking under the CMS crossing on 23.04.2018