Railways to conduct third party audit of its bridges

The move comes after the collapse of Andheri bridge

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.

"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.

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.

The zonal railways can hire domestic or international agencies for the task, said an official.

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.

Last month, an overbridge in Andheri in Mumbai collapsed killing two persons and injuring three.