‘Every 3rd diesel loco failed in 180 days of overhauling : CAG

641 DIESEL LOCOS AND 293 ELECTRIC LOCOS FAILED WITHIN 180 DAYS OF POH.
In its latest audit report, the comptroller and auditor general of India has found that within 180 days of periodic overhauling (POH), every third diesel and every sixth electric locomotive engine failed to perform during train operations.
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audit was conducted for the period between 2012 and 2017, and it revealed that defective material, faulty equipment and poor inspection were the main reasons for the failure of locomotives.
In six diesel loco workshops (DLWS), 37% (641 of 1,715) engines failed within 180 days of their POH. In six electric loco workshops (ELWS), 18% (293 of 1,647) locos failed within 180 days of their POH.
The rate of failure was more than 50% for diesel locomotives overhauled in Eastern Railway (ER), North Western Railway (NWR) and South Eastern Railway (SER).
For instance, ER Jamalpur DLWS reported 57% loco failure, while SER Kharagpur DLWS reported 52% loco failure in 180 days. For electric locos, ER Kanchrapara workshop reported 37% and Northern Railway Lucknow workshop reported 35% failure. CAG claimed that defective material, faulty equipment and poor inspection were the main reasons for failure as cited by the railway zones.
The audit further observed that of the total 10,391 diesel and 6,190 electric loco failures during the review period, 5,363 and 2,800 failures (52% 45%) respectively, were after their scheduled maintenance by loco sheds. More than 60% failures were in just 10 loco sheds.


“These were on account of defective material. High value items such as crankshafts, engine blocks, power assembly, traction motors, alternators, under gears, transformers and turbo super chargers failed within warranty period. The rate of such failure increased by 62% and 58% for diesel and electric locos respectively in 2016-17 as compared to 2012-13. This indicated poor material management,” said CAG.
In its review of records of unscheduled repairs at the selected 16 diesel loco sheds and 12 electric loco sheds, CAG noticed that 17,530 such repairs for diesel and 22,078 for electric were undertaken during 2012-17.
Source : TOI