Research Design and Standards Organisation

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Research Design & Standards Organisation
Company type Organization
Industry Research and Development
Founded1957;67 years ago (1957)
Headquarters,
Area served
India
Owner Government of India
Parent Ministry of Railways through Railway Board (India)
Website rdso.indianrailways.gov.in

The Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) is the research and development and railway technical specification development organisation under the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India, which functions as a technical adviser and consultant to the Railway Board, the Zonal Railways, the Railway Production Units, RITES, RailTel and Ircon International in respect of design and standardization of railway equipment and problems related to railway construction, operations and maintenance. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

To enforce standardization and co-ordination between various railway systems in British India, the Indian Railway Conference Association (IRCA) was set up in 1902. It was followed by the establishment of the Central Standards Office (CSO) in 1930, for preparation of designs, standards and specifications. However, till India's independence in 1947, most of the designs and manufacture of railway equipment was entrusted to foreign consultants. After independence, a new organisation called Railway Testing and Research Centre (RTRC) was set up in 1952 at Lucknow, for undertaking the intensive investigation of railway problems, providing basic criteria and new concepts for design purposes, for testing prototypes and generally assisting in finding solutions for specific problems. In 1957, the Central Standards Office (CSO) and the Railway Testing and Research Centre (RTRC) were integrated into a single unit named Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) under the Ministry of Railways with its headquarters at Manak Nagar, Lucknow. [1] The status of RDSO was changed from an "Attached Office" to a "Zonal Railway" on 1 January 2003, to give it greater flexibility and a boost to the research and development activities. [4] [5]

Organisation

RDSO is headed by the Director-General who ranks equivalent to the general manager of a Zonal Railway. The present Director General is Sanjeev Bhutani [6] The Director-General is assisted by an Additional Director General and 23 Sr. Executive Directors and Executive Directors, who are in charge of the 27 directorates: Bridges and Structures, the Centre for Advanced Maintenance Technology (CAMTECH), Carriage, Geotechnical Engineering, Testing, Track Design, Medical, EMU & Power Supply, Engine Development, Finance & Accounts, Telecommunication, Quality Assurance, Personnel, Works, Psycho-Technical, Research, Signal, Wagon Design, Electric Locomotive, Stores, Track Machines & Monitoring, Traction Installation, Energy Management, Traffic, Metallurgical & Chemical, Motive Power and Library & Publications. All the directorates except Defence Research are located in Lucknow.

Projects

Trail run of world's first triple stack container train. [7]

Design and specification of 12,000 hp WAG-11 electric locomotive. [8]

Design and specification of Vande Bharat [9]

Design and development of dual purpose Double Decker Express for cargo as well as passenger. [10] [11]

Design and specification of WDAP-5

Design and specification of Utkrisht Double Decker

Development of design & specification of WAG-12

Development of Double Decker Express

Design of WAGC3 locomotive

Development of a new crashworthy design of 4500 HP WDG4 locomotive incorporating new technology to improve dynamic braking and attain significant fuel savings.

Development of Drivers’ Vigilance Telemetric Control System which directly measures and analyses variations in biometric parameters to determine the state of alertness of the driver.

Development of Kavach.

Development of Computer Aided Drivers Aptitude test equipment for screening high-speed train drivers for Rajdhani/Shatabdi Express trains to evaluate their reaction time, form perception, vigilance and speed anticipation.

Assessment of residual fatigue life of critical railway components like rail, rail weld, wheels, cylinder head, OHE mast, catenary wire, contact wire, wagon components, low components, etc. to formulate remedial actions.

Modification of specification of Electric Lifting Barrier to improve its strength and reliability

Design and development of modern fault tolerant, fail-safe, maintainer friendly Electronic Interlocking system

Development of 4500 HP Hotel Load Locomotive to provide clean and noise-free power supply to coaches from the locomotive to eliminate the existing generator car of Garib Rath express trains.

Field trials conducted for electric locomotive hauling Rajdhani/Shatabdi express trains with Head On Generation (HOG) system to provide clean and noise-free power supply to end on coaches.

Development of WiMAX technology to provide internet access to the passengers in running trains.

Design and Development of Ballastless Track with the indigenous fastening system (BLT-IFS).

Design and Development of Rail Free Fastening (RFF) for Girder Bridges.

Reduction in de-stressing temperature in LWR with the use of wider and heavier sleepers.

Carrying Long Welded Rails through Points and Crossings.

Laying of Long Welded Rails in Sharp curve of less than 440 m radius.

Design and development of 25T Axle load bogie for different wagons.

Major achievements

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian locomotive class YDM-5</span>

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The Indian locomotive class WCM-3 is a class of 1.5 kV DC electric locomotives that was developed in 1958 by Hitachi for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), Direct Current (C), Mixed traffic (M) engine, 3rd generation (3). They entered service in 1958. A total of 3 WCM-3 locomotives were built in Japan in 1958.

The WDM-2G is a class of diesel electric genset locomotive used in Indian Railways. It is one of the rarest locomotives in India with only two units being produced by Patiala Locomotive Works (PLW). The locomotives were produced with an intention of being fuel efficient and to be used for light to medium duties such as short passenger runs along with occasional shunting. They are one of the only two classes of locomotives in India to feature multiple prime movers, the other example being WDS-6G, which was designed solely for shunting. They have a rated power of 2,400 HP.

The Indian locomotive class WAP-3 was a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was designed by Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) and Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways in 1987. The model name stands for Broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Passenger traffic (P) locomotive, 3rd generation (3). They entered service in 1988. They were the faster variant of the previous WAP-1 class. A total of 9 WAP-3 were converted from existing WAP-1 units at CLW between 1987 and 1988. All locomotives were now withdrawn from service and converted back to WAP-1.

References

  1. 1 2 Rao, M.A. (1988). Indian Railways, New Delhi: National Book Trust, pp.217–28
  2. compiled and edited by Research, Reference and Training Division. (2007). India Yearbook 2007. Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 819. ISBN   978-81-230-1423-4.{{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  3. Wadhwa, Gopal Krishan (September 2003). "An Overview of the R&D Center of Indian Railways" (PDF). Japan Railway & Transport Review. 36 (September): 26–28. Retrieved 29 June 2007.
  4. "Salient Features of Indian Railways". Indian Railways. Archived from the original on 30 April 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2007.
  5. "Microsoft Word - publication_section" (PDF). Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  6. http://www.rdso.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,14 [ dead link ]
  7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5H8pSxzTsA
  8. "World's first 12,000 HP converted electric locomotive rolls out - ET EnergyWorld".
  9. https://rdso.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,1093,7169
  10. "In a First, RCF Kapurthala's Double-Decker Rail Coach with Passengers on Top and Cargo Below Coming Next Month". 30 July 2023.
  11. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/a-first-double-decker-coach-to-ferry-passengers-and-cargo-529895
  12. "Indian Railways launches first mobile vehicle to test locomotive emissions". Railway Technology. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2020.