Transportation Engineering

ILE Project Presentation

Topic : ILE visit to Margalla Railway Station and I-9
Underpass Piling Construction.

Group No : 03

Members : Muhammad Shaheer Rizwan (F20601018)

Muhammad Ayan Khan (F20601017)

Ayesha Qaiser ( F20601015)

Muhammad Sohaib Hafeez (F20601016)

Swera Asif (F20601014)

General Information :

• On 22nd June 2022 , we had our ILE class in which we visited two different sites , the Margalla
Railway Station at I-9 , Islamabad while second one I-9 underpass piling construction area.

Objective:

• To understand the concept taught at class and their implications at industries or fields.

• To get the knowledge about different operation and functions perform at construction site.

• To get exposure of the railway station operations.

• To understand the hierarchy of different offices working at railway station.

 Site 1 : Visit to Piling work at sector I-9 underpass

• In recent years the Federal Govt decided the rehabilitation of Islamabad infrastructure ,
piling work at I-9 is one of them.

• Piling is a deep foundation construction method used to transfer building loads to

subsurface strata.

• Wet piling/wet bored pile and dry piling/dry bored pile are undergoing.

• Before drilling surveys are performed initially to check the level surface.

• About 32-36m deep bore hole is done for pier foundation.

• After boring a cage is inserted with help of piling rig or cranes.

• Due excessive water in pile holes sometimes soil has tendency to get settle
down.

• This led to cave formation in the piling foundation.

• To avoid this , a chemical Bentonite is used to ensure the quality of concrete in

pile foundations.

• After all such measures , pile cap is placed as funnel for filling of concrete
mixture.

• To check the depth before hardening of mixture a free-fall stone is used for that
purpose.
Pictorial representation of
piling
• Figure shows the piling cage
and bentonite chemical
Site 2: Visit to Margalla Railway Station :

• Margalla Railway station is located in I-9 sector , Islamabad. established and

operational in Nov 1979.

• These are four types of interlocking system as shown below :

 CTC system
 Absolute block system
 Automatic block system
 One-engine system

• Work on absolute block system.

• When one train is occupying a section of track other trains are not allowed to enter.

• This is the most widely used system.

 Hierarchy :

• The hierarchy of offices under absolute Control Office

block system is as follows :

Station Master
Office

Cabins Points
• Control system give instruction to station master about signaling.

• Station master further give written commandments to cabin crew and

points.

• BKFC trucks are used for loading and unloading of the ballast.

• "Gang man" is maintenance team for ballast and rails.

• At site concrete sleepers and wooden sleepers are used at crossings.

Signaling :

Departure signals:
• Starter signals.
• Advance starter signals.

Reception signals:
• Outer signals.
• Home signals.

• In every case the home signals down first then the starter signals downs.
Co-related topics covered in ILE:
Transportation engineering:

 Rail track components.

 Signaling system.
 Hierarchy of railway system.
 Railway traffic flow design.

Structure Analysis:
 Design of piling cage.

 Load distribution phenomenon in rail track and rolling stocks.

 Factor of safety in design.

 Compressive and tensile load transfer mechanism in rails.

Material Engineering:
• Soil testing for evaluating strata.
• Aggregate Material for ballast.
• Compressive strength test and tensile strength test.
Application of concepts:

Driven cast-in-situ:

• A hydraulic hammer is used to put a tube with an extraction collar

and a detachable tip into the ground.

• When the desired depth is attained, the reinforcement is placed.

CFA(continuous flight auger):

• The flights constantly transfer earth from the auger's tip upwards.

• The borehole is stabilized by the auger filled with soil. 

• Concrete is then pumped with the concrete pump through the

hollow stem after reaching the final depth.
Prefabricated piles:

• These piling systems are prefabricated, often of metal or concrete, and

driven, screwed, drilled, or vibrated into the ground.

CFA piling Cast in-situ

Signaling system :

Stops signals

• Its purpose is to keep other trains from colliding with it and to notify that
moveable infrastructure components are in the proper place.

Shunting signals

• A shunting signal regulates low-speed movements where a main signal is

not available.

Routing signals

• The routing signal is used to tell driver which of two or more divergent
routes are assigned to him.
Pictorial view of signals

Distant signals Shunting Signals

GNSS(Global navigation satellite system) in railways:

• Use to track the movement of locomotives, rail cars etc.

• The technology helps reduce accidents, delays and operating cost.

• Increasing track capacity, customer satisfaction and cost

effectiveness.

• Modern system includes GNSS receivers.

Lever system:

• Mechanical signaling installations rely on lever frames to interlock

the signals, track locks, and points.

• Allowing trains to operate safely in the region the signals regulate.

Pictorial view:

GNSS System Lever system

Problems faced by industry:
Depleting Assets:

• The depleting assets have led us to import spare parts due to few factories and
workshops.

Solution

• Financial restructuring is required on immediate basis.

• Investors are invited for rehabilitation , refurbishment, track maintenance etc.

Lack of modernity in railways:

• Countries like India, Bangladesh etc. are also adopting according to the world-
wide standards , but we fail to modernize our infrastructure.
Poor Infrastructure:

• Physical infrastructure have been used to their full potential and are no
longer productive, seriously disrupting the effectiveness of the work.

Consumer dissatisfaction:
• Generally, the complaints are due to the low-quality services provided,
disrespectful attitude of employees.

• This led to crisis of the user loyalty to this service.

Trends in international industry:

Integrated Signaling :

• System uses train location information for interlocking and enables

communications-based train control (CBTC).

• startup’s signaling solutions ensure safety, optimize train movement, and

maximize the use of platform availability.

Incredibly efficient autonomous rail :

• Technology is still considered as a game-changer for the future of rail.

• Enabled by advanced sensor technology and real-time data transmission.

Railroad Crossing Monitoring:

• Startup uses train sensors, Bluetooth, and prediction software to

determine when to open and close rail crossings.

• This information is then conveyed to drivers through information

systems.

Solar trains:

• Solar can be used with trains to make them even more eco-friendly as
a form of transport.

• Solar power will help to make train travel even more sustainable.
Rail Automation:

• Startups and scaleups develop robotic systems for infrastructure

cleaning , maintenance and drone technology for remote inspection.

• Smart rail automation helps railway companies optimize asset

efficiency, monitoring, and maintenance.
Thanks