Pictures of various track and catenary maintenance vehicles used by Indian Railways.

A cute little OHE (Over Head Equipment) inspection car, stands at one of the sidings at Mathura Jn. in Uttar Pradesh. The car aptly  is named ‘Braj Sundari’ (Braj is the ancient name of Mathura region). Note the dummy pantograph assembly (aft) for checking the catenary, and the roof top platform which allows the workers to stand and perform necessary repairs.

A more conservatively colored OHE inspection car rests at Agra Idgah Jn. as an urchin cavorts in front of to grab my attention. Note markings denoting the speed limit (40kmph) and instructions to coupe the car at the end of a train only. The box in the foreground is a location sensor which a vital component of the  MACL signalling system.

A beautiful looking OHE inspection car rests easy in the sidings at Manikgarh station near Balharshah as it is crossed by the AP Express headed to Delhi. Many OHE engineers take pride in the look of their chariots and one can find these cars in all sorts of paint shades across the country.

An OHE inspection car belonging to the OHE engineer at Ghoradongri stands outside its shed. Christened ‘Rajhans’ after the royal swan of Indian mythology, their look however reminds me of the Martian character from the ‘Looney Tunes’ cartoon show. These diesel powered units have done yeoman’s service to IR, but are now being replaced by improved versions.

IR is now deploying advanced versions of OHE inspection cars based on its tested DEMU chassis. One such unit based at Maula Ali near Hyderabad heads home under the Tarnaka fly over. Note DEMU style exhaust vents on rooftop, larger platform for easy access, and a novel WW2 bomber style glass turret which allows for better inspection of pantograph movement on catenary.

Track maintenance machines built by Plasser and other vendors have been deployed heavily by IR.The machines can multitask a host of processes like ballast packing, sleeper laying, track alignment etc. at a much faster and efficient rate than a gang of labourers which offsets their huge initial cost. Here one such Plasser built machine rests easy after a hard day’s work around the Hyderabad region.

Another such track maintenance machine is seen resting in the sidings at Bangalore Cantt. station on the South Western Railway. Almost all of these machines are self powered and can even haul a coach or two of tools and maintenance staff.

A brightly painted Medical Relief Van lies in one of the sidings at Nagpur station. These 2 car rakes are based on ICF built DEMU chassis and are capable of speeds of upto 100kmph providing quick access to any accident site.

Oscillograph cars are an important part of track safety certification as they analyze a lot of factors like vibrations from the track, catenary and other factors from the permanent way. One such car belonging to Northern Railways is parked at the ‘VIP’ sidings at New Delhi railway station.