There was a time at Independence and for a short time after that, when all trains and railways were powered by steam engines. Coal used to heat water and the resultant steam powered the engine and the train. There were a lot of objections to the coal which used to belch smoke and particles. This problem could have been easily solved by over-head electrical lines, which provided energy to heat the element.
For some reason, railway engineers could not think of this modification, and expensive diesel and electrical engines were imported from abroad. Gradually, all steam engines were replaced by the new engines and the cost of running the trains increased manifold. Now a situation has arisen, certain rail travels are more expensive than air travel. Railways are running into massive losses due to competition from road and air transport.
Another modification could have been effected on the wheels which had weak grip on the tracks. To increase the strength of the grip, the wheels could have overlapping grips which could have been increased to three inches and the trains could have run without further modification at much higher speeds.
To increase the efficiency of energy, dynamos could have been attached to the wheels of engines and coaches, along with electronic moderator to minimize energy consumption.
The dynamos attached to wheels in the coaches would have provided enough free electricity to power air-conditioning.
For some reason, the Institute of Indian Railways’ mechanical and electrical engineering failed to produce any student who had thought of this.
The railways are using expensive solar power to run lights and fans. This is gross mismanagement of money and now there is only one train which uses steam engines to power itself. This is the Darjeeling toy train perhaps as a memorial to the Indian Railways of what might have been. The steam engine on the Darjeeling train should be modified as described in this note.
Ashwini Kumar Puri
Alias: Raajaa Bakhshi Puri
17th May 2019
