Jalore: North Western Railway has completed 220 km of track renewal on the Samdari-Bhildi section of its Jodhpur division, a step aimed at strengthening rail safety. The work was completed within 19 months of its approval in March 2025.
The Chief Public Relations Officer of North Western Railway said the Samdari-Bhildi section is an important rail route and a CC+8+2T double-stack container operation route. The section earlier had 52 kg rails. The work to replace them with 60 kg rails was sanctioned to strengthen the track for heavy-capacity operations. Under this, the entire track has been renewed.
Under the project, all bridge channel sleepers and rails were renewed on eight girder bridges, including two important bridges. Wide-base sleepers were also laid to strengthen bridge approaches. In addition, complete turnout renewal and through turnout sleeper renewal has been completed in 16 yards.
The work in the remaining 12 yards is targeted for completion by February 2027. Renewal of 4,000 casual sleepers has also been done on the track. Similarly, switch expansion joints (SEJ) have been renewed completely in 16 yards, and the work in the remaining 12 yards will be completed by February 2027. Rail structure interaction (RSI) studies were also carried out on two bridges, after which long welded rail (LWR) was extended. This helped eliminate free joints.
Track Quality Index Rises to 106.20
As a result of the track renewal, the quality and safety of the section have improved significantly. Its Track Quality Index (TQI) has risen to 106.20, which the railway says is the highest level on Indian Railways.
Speed Limit Raised to 110 kmph
The maximum speed of trains has also been raised from 100 kmph to 110 kmph on 100 km of the section. The target is to complete the work to raise speed on the remaining 120 km of the section by December 2026.