"Vaishnaw: 9,784 Railway Bridges Sanctioned for Repairs and Rebuilding as of April 1"

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that Indian Railways has sanctioned a total of 9,784 railway bridges for repairs, strengthening, rehabilitation, or rebuilding. This announcement comes in response to concerns raised by nine MPs regarding the condition of old railway bridges in Maharashtra and the status of repairs over the past three years.

The MPs had expressed worries about the collapse of railway bridges and the resulting casualties, and sought information on the steps taken to address these issues. Vaishnaw assured that there is a rigorous system in place for inspecting railway bridges, with inspections occurring twice a year—once before the monsoon and once after. Some bridges are inspected more frequently based on their condition.

"Repair, strengthening, rehabilitation, and rebuilding of railway bridges is an ongoing process driven by their physical condition as determined during inspections, rather than their age," Vaishnaw explained.

The minister clarified that there have been no reported collapses of railway bridges in Maharashtra in the past three years, and all bridges are deemed safe for train operations at permitted speeds.

Information on bridge repairs is maintained zone-wise rather than state-wise. Maharashtra falls under the jurisdictions of Central Railway, South Central Railway, South East Central Railway, South Western Railway, and Western Railway. Over the last three years, 5,405 railway bridges across the Indian Railways network have been repaired, rehabilitated, strengthened, or rebuilt, including 1,323 bridges in the aforementioned five zones.

As of April 1, 2024, a total of 9,784 bridges have been sanctioned for various forms of maintenance and reconstruction, according to Vaishnaw.

ET