India’s latest developments in establishing high-speed rail corridors indicate an important moment in the development of the country’s infrastructure. Proposed projects that will connect key financial centers are expected to improve life in the region through better travel and reduced travel time. The discussions about the new initiatives tend to focus on train speeds, stations and investment plans, yet the long-time success of the projects will depend on an invisible factor, namely the engineering mechanisms that guarantee the safety and effectiveness of the railway infrastructure.
According to Mufaddal Deesawala Ameenji, Chairman and Managing Director of Ameenji Rubber Limited, the efficiency of India’s infrastructure development should be assessed on not only the size of construction projects but also the performance and quality of engineering systems that will be used during the exploitation of these projects.
The Technology That Enables High Speed Rail to Function
The infrastructure built for high-speed railways is subject to stronger dynamic forces than the ones on conventional rail. Elevated tracks, bridges and viaducts are constantly shaken, subjected to thermal effects and structural deformations when trains move at high speeds. To deal with these forces one needs more than just good civil engineering; one also needs cutting-edge technology in the form of parts that allow for relative movements while keeping stability in place.
The company creates critical steel and elastomer products, such as spherical bearings, POT-PTFE Bearings, elastomeric bearings, rubber sole plates, expansion joints and vibration isolation systems. Although invisible after installation, they absorb shocks, disperse loads and reduce strain on structures while ensuring higher comfort of passengers.
“The public usually notices trains, stations and bridges. What usually remains unnoticed is the engineered systems that function behind the scenes. It is their operation that decides how vigorously the above-mentioned systems function over the next thirty to forty years,” expresses Mr. Ameenji.
With the introduction of more advanced railway corridors in India, one can foresee that lifecycle performance, reliability and durability of the technologies is going to become the same priority as the success of the project execution.
Constructing India’s Rail Future by means of Indigenous Engineering
India’s infrastructure expansion is altering the manufacturing scenario in the country. The increasing focus on domestic sourcing is enabling Indian manufacturers to create specialised engineering solutions that comply with global quality standards but also suit local conditions of operation.
Mr. Ameenji thinks that this shift will be an enormous opportunity for India’s engineering sector. “In order to create infrastructure on this scale you need much more than just construction capacity. You need a solid domestic manufacturing environment that can deliver high-precision manufactured products on a constant basis, adhere to the quality standards and support the projects through their entire life cycle.”
Companies such as Ameenji Rubber Limited have made advances in specialised manufacturing of bridge bearings such as spherical bearings, railway rubber products, expansion joints and other critical infrastructure solutions for many years now. The projects carried out with the use of these products include railway projects, bridge projects and highway projects, showing that Indian manufacturers can increasingly take part in complex infrastructure projects.
Mr. Ameenji states that the next stage of infrastructure development should involve greater cooperation among project developers, engineers, material scientists, testing laboratories and domestic manufacturers and the opportunity to collaborate are immense.
The Future of Infrastructure Will Depend on What Lies Beneath
With regard to the development of rail systems, procurement decisions are bound to be increasingly focused on lifecycle cost instead of initial implementation expenses. The success of future endeavors will depend on the aspects of reliability, durability, maintenance effectiveness, and long-term performance.
This trend imposes even more responsibility on producers of components to innovate and improve their tests and the effectiveness of their products under harsh operating conditions.
Mr. Ameenji believes that the development of high-speed rail in India is an opportunity for local producers to showcase their technological advancements.
“The state of future Indian infrastructure is not defined just by how fast trains go or the amount of railway miles built but also depends on the quality of engineering, which is largely not visible to the public eye. Building world-class infrastructure needs world-class parts, and Indian producers are tasked with playing an important part in that task.”
As India speeds towards next-generation transportation systems, all eyes are on the infrastructure being built for such systems. But the success of these projects will depend on the invisible engineering systems working underneath along with the local manufacturing ecosystem working properly and keeping such systems reliable for ages to come.
