Traction Rolling Stock - Indian Railways Institute of Electrical ...

8. MAINTENANCE, AND OVERHAUL
SCHEDULES OF LOCOMOTIVES
8.1 MAINTENANCE SCHEDULES
Indian Railways have gained considerable experience with the maintenance of electric
locomotives since 1960. Based upon the safety requirements, various checks have been
evaluated and already standardized. Also, based upon the investigations into failures, special
maintenance instruction (SMIs) have been issued by RDSO from time to time. Even for new type
of locomotives, standard equipment like pantographs, circuit breakers etc. continue to be used and
established maintenance practices for such equipments will, therefore, be applicable.
The scope of maintenance work to be followed in each maintenance schedule can be
arrived at, based upon the following -
8.1.1 Maintenance instructions as furnished by manufacturer for a new type of rolling stock.
Copies of these manuals will be readily made available for reference whenever required by
maintenance staff, for each type of equipment in use.
8.1.2 Maintenance instruction already developed by a zonal railway for standard equipments.
8.1.3 Specific instructions already laid down regarding safety requirements/fire prevention
requirements etc. of the rolling stock.
8.1.4 Rich experiences of the system taking into account adverse environmental conditions in
which electric locomotives are expected to perform satisfactorily like high temperature, high
humidity, extremely dusty conditions etc.
On the above line, maintenance schedules for electric locomotives of different classes
and types already in service have more of less reached to an optimum level. Thus there may be
little necessity for changes. There can be, of course, marginal changes as dictated by further
service experience.
As far as new types of electric locomotives/their sub-assemblies that may be introduced
from time to time, principles enumerated above are to be followed for arriving at optimum scope of
work consistent with periodicity of prescribed schedules.
8.2 ALTERATIONS IN MAINTENANCE SCHEDULES
Presently individual railways might have made minor alterations in the schedules based
upon their own experience. Considering the wide variations in operating and duty cycles and
environments as experienced in different systems, this would be considered logical. However, the
recent trend is to enlarge the field of operation of electric locomotives. Thus, today electric
locomotives of one system are running in other systems. Thus alterations in schedules based
upon local experience will have to give way to standardisation of schedules so that locomotives of
one system will perform satisfactorily when called upon to operate in other systems.
In the light of experience and improvements based upon trials of modifications, it may