Indian Railways: Indian Railways has taken very strict measures for safe operation of trains. In the recent past, many cases of technical faults in trains have been reported. When the railway officials investigated these defects, a major problem came to light. The names of the manufacturing companies or batch numbers were not clearly written on the damaged parts of the train. Due to which it becomes difficult to determine which vendor has supplied poor quality goods. To eliminate this problem once and for all, Railways has now made very strict rules regarding warranty and marking of parts.

The unknown parts added to the tension

Recently, there have been several incidents of equipment failures in which, upon investigation, it was found that the required markings on parts were either incomplete or impossible to read. A senior railway official said that the traceability of parts is being affected due to lack of clear marking. It became difficult to prove which company was responsible for this defect. Keeping this in mind, the Railway Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) has issued strict instructions to all zonal railways, wagon manufacturers and inspection agencies.

Companies have to accept this special condition

Now it will be mandatory to write manufacturer’s name, code, serial number, batch number, month and year of manufacture on every spare part supplied to railways. Not only this, the location, size, depth and method of marking should be strictly as per RDSO norms. Railways will no longer only check whether the information is written on the part or not. Now it will also be checked whether the marking is complete, correct and easily readable.

This will keep a close eye on important parts

The parts that will be most rigorously inspected include the coupler, draft gear, brake block, compressed-air brake device, spring, side bearer, adapter, brake beam, bogie, and wear plates. According to a senior official, zonal railways will now carry out random checking while receiving goods, while fitting them in trains and in workshops. The scope of checking will also be increased at routine overhaul depots and examination yards.

If the rules are broken, there will be a huge loss

If the marking on any lot is found to be missing, incomplete, incorrect or inappropriate, the Railways will reject the entire lot of that company. In such cases, the manufacturer or seller has to replace the entire item as per the warranty rules. The biggest thing is that in many categories, companies have to replace rejected parts for free. Apart from this, the company will also have to bear the entire transport cost of taking back the goods and bringing new goods. Quality Assurance Directorate and third-party agencies have also been instructed to strictly follow these rules during inspections.