Inaugurates automatic coach washing plant in Mysuru Station yard

Mysuru: Sanjeev Kishore, General Manager, South Western Railway (SWR), Hubballi, accompanied by Principal Heads of the Department and Divisional Railway Manager, Mysuru Division, inspected the Central Workshop, Ashokapuram, on Saturday as part of the statutory annual inspection.

With the fleet of Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches expanding on the Indian Railway System, the Central Workshop, Ashokapuram, has a vital role to play in the periodical overhauling of these coaches which have improved safety features and greater riding comfort and aesthetically more appealing leading to enhanced passenger satisfaction.

The General Manager inspected the LHB spring shop, carriage lift shop and wheel shop.

He inaugurated the newly installed state-of-the-art plasma cutting machine and inspected the Basic Training Institute of the Workshop besides taking part in the tree plantation programme.

Later in the day, Sanjeev Kishore inaugurated the automatic coach washing plant and the augmented facilities at the coaching depot in Mysuru Station yard.

The GM said that with the commissioning of the automatic coach washing plant  a new benchmark has been set in faster and more efficient cleaning of coaches.

He further stated that the automatic coach washing plant is a multistage external cleaning system for coaches in rakes, using a detergent solution, high-pressure water jet and vertical rotating brushes. In addition, it has an Effluent Treatment System and water softening plants for use of soft water for external washing. This system will replace the current practice of cleaning rakes by manual application of chemicals and high-pressure jet, which is time-consuming, labour-intensive and water-guzzling, he added.

The controlled use of cleaning material results in reducing water, cost and manpower, thus paving the way for cleaner coaches for passengers in an efficient and eco-friendly manner.

Nearly 60 to 70% of recycled water is used for washing in each washing cycle. The time taken to clean a 24-coach train is 5-6 minutes at a speed of 5-8 kmph (4-5 coaches per minute) in comparison to manual practice running to over 180 minutes, said the General Manager.

With Indian Railways’ thrust now being primarily on identifying areas for improved operational efficiency by devising a robust mechanism for inspection of coaches of passenger-carrying trains, preventive as well as predictive, the facilities at the coaching depot have been augmented at Mysuru, which  is one of the largest coaching depots of SWR.

The salient features of the work include a covered shed of 100m length x 36m width having two maintenance bays, four sick-lines for accommodating a total of 16 coaches in the covered shed, provision for EOT crane in each bay, four examination pits, each of 25m length, synchronised lifting jacks facility for all sick-lines, alternator testing bed (Dyna-drive) facility in one examination pit, 750V couplers, welding points, battery chargers and charging points in each maintenance bay, 7.5m wide centre space for movement & maintenance activity, self-supported roof with turbo ventilators, rainwater harvesting with groundwater recharging system and provision of translucent sheets in roof & side cladding for adequate daylight. The work on bay II is expected to be completed by June 2023.

U. Subba Rao, Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer, SWR, Hubballi, Rahul Agarwal, Divisional Railway Manager, SWR, Mysuru Division and senior officials of Mysuru Division were present during the inauguration.