THE BLIND SPOT OF IRSE ENGINEERS AND RAILWAY’S DEBACLE IN THE HIMALAYAS

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THE TRAIL FROM LUMDING TO LEH (1996-2021)

The blind spot as a result of which Indian Railway engineers from the ground level to the top in Railway Board overlooked the deadly geohazards that are present in the Himalayas manifested itself first on a short stretch of high relief terrain in construction of the Lumding-Silchar line in Assam.

In 2015, the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) found high risk to stability and safety and declined to give sanction for running of passenger trains.

The CRS consulted Alok Kumar Verma, the then Chief Bridge Engineer of Northeast Frontier Railway about the risks posed by the landslides and other geohazards presents on the newly constructed line, and Verma also accompanied him in the inspection of the line.

Many landslides had occurred during construction of the line but despite warnings by experts the railway engineers failed to take into proper consideration the geohazards present while preparing designs and after landslides occurred.

Wait for a detailed report on this subject very soon.

In the meanwhile read the summary of the CRS’s forthright observations and recommendations in Chapter Conclusions of his report.

Scans of report & some photos of landslides on the line are given on Verma’s Twitter handle @trains_are_best.

#LumdingSilcharLine #Lines_in_Himalayas