Officials: Vintage rail bridges in Bhopal division doing well

BHOPAL: The foot-over-bridge (FoB) that collapsed outside CST killing six persons and injuring 32 others in Mumbai on Thursday evening, was built only 35 years ago. On the other hand, there are several bridges on Bhopal-Khandwa route under Bhopal railway division that were built over 100 years ago and are still serving well without any hassle.
Deputy chief engineer (bridge) line Bhopal, AK Hajare told TOI, “The Bhopal division has 1962 track girder-based bridges.Of them, 206 major or bigger bridges have been put under the most important categories,” said Hajare.
About older bridges in Bhopal division, Hajare said, “There are bridges on Bhopal-Khandwa route which were constructed in around 1868 and all of them are in good shape even today. Even there are a few old bridges where maintenance is not required as much as like the new ones.”
About safety and maintenance, Hajare said, “Our staff comprising sub-engineers and assistant engineers inspect bridges regularly before and after the monsoon. They submit report to the higher authorities and maintenance is done accordingly.”
He claimed that there is a not a single bridge in Bhopal railway division which is in bad condition. “There is no danger issue with these bridges due to the regular inspection. We always maintain uniformity in maintenance whether it is an old bridge or a new one,” said Hajare.
About FoBs on railways stations in Bhopal division, senior divisional engineer (coordination), Sanjeev Kumar said FoBs are checked annually. “Besides annual inspection, our team keep a close watch on the FoBs. Like in Bhopal the Itrasi end FoB is new. For a layman, it is not possible to understand about the strength and safety of a bridge. We do all kinds of checks on a regular basis,” said Kumar.
Bhopal railway division was formed on April 1, 1952 as part of the then Central Railway. It is the second largest division of West Central Railway in terms of route kms, employee strength and freight earning. It has total 95 stations of different categories.
The important stations of this division are Bhopal Jn of A-1 category, Bina Jn, Hoshangabad, Itarsi Junction, Vidisha, Habibganj of A category and Guna, Ganjbasoda, Guna, Harda, Sanchi, Shivpuri of B category stations.