<p class="title">The Railways has decided to conduct a third-party audit of all its bridges as the national transporter came under criticism following the collapse of an overbridge in Mumbai last month.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The board has said the present system of inspections of bridges is considered adequate and they will be continued. But, keeping in view the incidents of part collapse/failure of Road Over Bridges, railway bridges and Foot Over Bridges, it has been decided to conduct a third-party audit of identified and critical bridges for an independent expert view," said an official from the railways.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Zonal railways have been advised to carry out a one-time audit which would include under-water inspection, non-destructive testing, design adequacy for present-day loading, including earthquake force.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The zonal railways can hire domestic or international agencies for the task, said an official. </p>.<p class="bodytext">There are over 37,162 railway bridges which are more than 100 years old with almost 32 % of them in the northern zone, the government had informed Parliament recently.<br /><br />Last month, an overbridge in Andheri in Mumbai collapsed killing two persons and injuring three.</p>
<p class="title">The Railways has decided to conduct a third-party audit of all its bridges as the national transporter came under criticism following the collapse of an overbridge in Mumbai last month.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The board has said the present system of inspections of bridges is considered adequate and they will be continued. But, keeping in view the incidents of part collapse/failure of Road Over Bridges, railway bridges and Foot Over Bridges, it has been decided to conduct a third-party audit of identified and critical bridges for an independent expert view," said an official from the railways.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Zonal railways have been advised to carry out a one-time audit which would include under-water inspection, non-destructive testing, design adequacy for present-day loading, including earthquake force.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The zonal railways can hire domestic or international agencies for the task, said an official. </p>.<p class="bodytext">There are over 37,162 railway bridges which are more than 100 years old with almost 32 % of them in the northern zone, the government had informed Parliament recently.<br /><br />Last month, an overbridge in Andheri in Mumbai collapsed killing two persons and injuring three.</p>
