Some Characteristic Service Failures of Rails.

Abstract

India has about 34,022 miles of rail track and Lilian Railways carry on an average about 1260 million passengers a year. The railway traffic is increasing rapidly every scar and the Government have a programme of railroad expansion. Most of the rails required by the Indian Railways are manufactured in India by the Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited, Jamshedpur, and the Steel Corpor-ation of Bengal, Burnpur. In the year 1951-52, these concerns supplied 27,198 and 8,552 tons of rails, respect-ively. The rails manufactured in India are of two variet-ies usually termed Carbon Steel Rails and Medium Manganese Rails.* All the indigenous rails are inspected and passed by the Government Metallurigcal Inspectorate at Tatanagar, in accordance with I.R.S. Specification T. 12-50 which is equivalent to B.S.S. No 11-36. A very close scrutiny is nviintained during them inspection keeping in mind the safety of' the travelling public. Even then both indi- genous and foreign rails have occasionally failed in service and railway authorities invariably send the failed materials to the Government Metallurgical Inspectorate, Tatanagar, for metallurgical examination.