Indian Railways Introduces Rail Bicycle, Made Of Scrap Metal, For Track Inspection

Indian Railways has introduced an innovative rail bicycle which will help its staff in daily inspection, monitoring and track repair.

The East Coast Railway (ECoR) introduced the unique vehicle made out of discarded bicycles and railway junk for easier and faster monitoring of the tracks, reports The New Indian Express.

Twitter/@AshokPradhaTOI

The East Coast Railway posted a tweet saying, 'These Rail Bicycles were inhouse prepared by Permenant Way (P-Way) units of Khurda Road division by using damaged Rail dolly wheels for balancing the cycle which will be used for mobile patrolling.'

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.@RailMinIndia These Rail Bicycles were inhouse prepared by Permenant Way (P-Way) units of Khurda Road division by using damaged Rail dolly wheels for balancing the cycle which will be used for mobile patrolling. pic.twitter.com/Tx1U0Ft0b2

¡ª East Coast Railway (@EastCoastRail) August 26, 2020

These bicycles move at a maximum speed of 15 kmph and can be easily lifted as they weigh only 30 kg. They can also be dismantled and assembled by one person.

An alignment front wheel and light weight iron pipes were fitted to the body of an old bicycle with the help of nuts and bolts.

Rail cycle pic.twitter.com/bo0IFu9gBV

¡ª Ashok Pradhan (@AshokPradhanTOI) August 25, 2020

The officials claimed that the bicycles can be used for travelling even amid unfavourable weather conditions or while crossing difficult locations.

"The travel time of the trackmen will be reduced considerably, preventing longer detention of trains," The New Indian Express quoted the railway officials as saying.

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After a heavy shower, the bridge approach and other vulnerable locations can be easily inspected by the staff in a short span of time with the help of rail bicycle. Unwanted detentions during monsoons can also be avoided by using them.

"The rail bicycle is a novel mechanism to quickly travel on rail tracks for inspections, monitoring and urgent repairs," said Khurda Road DRM Shashi Kant Singh. Out of 18 P-Way units under Khurda Road division, eight units including Berhampur, Sompeta, Khurda Road, Gorakanath, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Jajpur-Keonjhar Road and Dhenkanal have manufactured the rail bicycles.

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The railway cycles will be very helpful for patrolling during summers too. The rail bicycles can also be used for patrolling to ensure safety and security in sections of the railway division currently closed to traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic, added an online statement by ECoR.