Case Study on Project Planning for faster construction of new BG rail line between Kawar &

Maheshmunda stations of E. C. Railway

By

Sitesh Kumar SinghChief Engineer (Construction)/Patna

&

Ashutosh ChourasiaDy. Chief Engineer (Construction)/Dhanbad

East Central RailwayConstruction Department

Brief History

Koderma-Giridih project was sanctioned in 2003 with 102 Route kms.

Due to presence of Coal bed below proposed alignment of project, it was changed from Kawar to Maheshmunda instead of Giridih.

For completion of the project, there was need for faster construction of work from Kawar (Km 94.5) to Maheshmunda (Km 111).

The new alignment was mainly passing through residential and hilly area.

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L O C A T I O N

Challenges in construction of new lines in hilly terrains

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No approach roads

Rough weather

Height of work space

Law & order problems

Availability of skilled manpower

Poisonous snakes/insects/bees

Availability of good contractors

Objective & Motivation

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Ensure quality

• Well defined QAP

• Fabrication at site

• Modern testing lab

Economy & safety

• 50:50 cost sharing

• National project

Speedy construction

• Finalization of tender, drawings etc

• Earth Moving Equipment

• Launching by road crane

Challenges

Ensure QUALITY construction for bridges with reasonably FAST

pace and overcome unforeseen PROBLEMS in the field

Positive contributionProblems faced

Analysis

Remedial measures

Scope of workS. No. Description Quantity

1 Earth cutting 5 lakh cum

2 Rock cutting 1 lakh cum

3 Earth filling 13 lakh cum

4 Blanketing 1 lakh cum

5 Minor bridges 21 nos

6 Major bridges 2 nos

7 Road over bridges 4 nos

8 Road under bridges 10 nos

9 Station buildings

with yards

5 nos

10 Signalling works Involved

11 Electrical works Invoved

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Note: Aerial video of complete section taken by drone is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZjVsfh2Rt8&t=74s

Major achievements

Full scope of work completed from May’17 to Feb’18 with total contractual expenditure of 150 Crores.

Engine trial was successfully done in March’18.

Commissioner of Railway Safety’s mandatory inspection done in July’18 and authorization for running of trains at 100 kmph (maximum permissible speed) was accorded.

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View of station building at Maheshmunda

View of a Road Over Bridge

View of Major bridge (6 x 30.5 m Composite Girder)

Methodology adopted for Execution

• Timely processing of tender with required eligibility criteria

• Timely preparations of L-section, all GADs, designs,drawings

• Suitable selection of location of concrete batching plant &camp office

• Use of Modern facilities in camp office

View of POTA cabin serving as Site office

Another view of Camp office

Organizational Set Up

Railway’s organization

• As work was in progress, 24x7 hrs manning of site was essential, therefore

two SSE/Con/Works/Giridih was posted at Giridih with one Assistant Engineer

& Dy.Chief engineer at Dhanbad under Chief Engineer at headquarter/Patna.

Contractor’s organization

• To maintain the highest level of quality, the contractor’s organization was set

up with 1 Project Director, 3 Project Managers, 1 HR deptt., 2 Accountants, 2

Mechanical Engineers, 1 Store Incharge, 2 Sr. Engineers (Earthwork), Material

Engineer, Sr. Structure Engineer, 1 Lab Technician, Mechanical Foreman, 2

Mechanical Supervisors, 4 Sr. Mechanics, 6 Mechanical helpers, Welders, Lab

helpers, Safety & Security personnel etc.

Concrete Batching Plant

• To ensure timely completion of such a huge concrete work 20m3/hrscapacity batching plant was set up with storage capacity of 25000cement bags.

Use of Advanced Earth Moving Equipment

• For faster progress of earthwork, following advance earthmovingequipment were deployed: 8 nos of Poclains, 2 nos of Graders, 20 nos ofHyvas, 2 nos of Vibro rollers, 2 nos of Dozers, Wagon & Tractor drills etc.

• Use of concrete boom placer

Sequencing of Activities

• Construction of wing walls of bridges takes more time andgenerally done only after deck/top slab construction. In thisproject, wing walls of bridge have been done afterfoundation raft of bridge and it has saved lot of time tofinally get through the bridge for track linking work with drystone backing, backfilling and other activities.

• Sequencing of activities have been planned in a manner sothat through patch is made available for track linking workand just after completion of bridge, track has been laid.

Use of Road crane & Hydra for launching of Major bridge, FOB girders & Limited Height Subways

Weekly Meeting with Deputy Commissioners & other state officials

• As work had been immediately started after land acquisition, therewere regular issues like crop compensation, less compensation toland owners etc. which was creating difficulties in work progress andagency was already mobilized as per requirement.

• All issues were sorted out on day to day basis with regularcoordination with state officials and weekly meeting was done withDeputy Commissioner, Giridih to resolve major issue (if any). Eventimely messages to Deputy Commissioner, Giridih has resolved manypetty issues.

• Therefore, regular liasoning with Deputy Commissioner, Giridih &Superintendent of Police, Giridih for law & order related issueshelped in smooth progress of works.

Problems faced and remedial measures

S. No.

Problems faced Remedial measures

1 No approach road New temporary roads were built

2 Rough weather Weather pattern studied & activities planned accordingly

3 Height of work space Local labourers were trained

4 Frequent law & order problems Dedicated Police camps were provided

5 Delay in supply of detonators Alternate sources were arranged

6 Non availability of good contractor locally

Eligibility criteria in Contract provisions need to cater to this aspect

7 Poisonous insects, snakes and bees

Special chemicals arranged alongwith first aid

8 Local festivals Some outside labourers were kept in camps

9 Release of sudden water from Dam intermittently

Regular liasoning with Dam authorities

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Conclusions

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Timely processing of tender (including all works) with suitable eligibility criteria is very important

Finalization of L-section, GADs, design etc. before award of tender is a critical item for timely completion of the project

Use of advance construction equipment like heavy earthmoving machines, Concrete batching plant with Ready Mix concrete, Concrete Boom placer are very helpful for expeditious work

Conclusions contd..

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Suitable selection of camp office and concrete batching plant with ready mix concrete is key factor to monitor the concrete quality as per the requirement

For long lead works, locally available manpower may be trained to carry out skilled jobs.

At militant infested work sites, it is better to arrange police camps in advance for smooth progress of work.

Special chemicals under skilled supervision can be used to tackle problems of poisonous snakes/insects/bees.

Conclusions contd..

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Adequate organizational set up of client as per as contractor is key to monitor day to day work as well quality

Regular liasoning with district administration is very helpful to resolve day to day issues

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