Increasing train parting, hot axle cases have safety implications; need inquiry: Railways

New Delhi, Oct 21: Rising cases of train parting and overheating of axle bearing leading to wheel jamming and derailments have serious safety implications and require detailed investigation as well as corrective measures, railway mechanical engineers have said.
Principal chief mechanical engineers (PCMEs) expressed concern over the issues while discussing operational safety in a conference held recently in Puri, Odisha.
According to the minutes of the conference circulated among senior officials recently by the Railway Board, a hot axle in rolling stock can cause blockage of railway lines, detachment of coaches and other issues.
The document said that these issues need to be investigated in details along with corrective actions such as improvement in design and maintenance aspects on priority. “Hot axles and train partings should be addressed through a detailed review of both global practices and case-specific data, enabling identification of root causes and adoption of best practices,” it said.
It added that the Indian Railways is experiencing an average three hot axle cases per day and train partings are also on the higher side.
“Objective and time bound action should be taken to eliminate team failures. Conditional monitoring of rolling stock using the latest technologies such as AI and related tools was emphasized. It was also decided that Hot Axle Box Detectors will be procured centrally, with Northern Railway designated as the nodal agency for this procurement,” the document said.
The Indian Railways has installed Hot Box Detectors (HBDs) at various trackside locations across the rail network. When trains cross over the device, it can detect overheated wheel bearings and alert the train crew in real time.
“Each HBD unit should be capable of communicating with one another to ensure proper detection of faulty bearings well in advance, thereby preventing the occurrence of hot axle cases. RDSO (Research Designs & Standards Organisation) will develop the required protocol to enable this,” it added.
Mechanical experts were concerned about unusual hot axle cases at the Dedicated Freight Corridor as, according to them, up to July 2025, 49 per cent of hot axle cases are reported over DFC which is not commensurate to traffic. (PTI)