New Delhi [India], April 3 (ANI): A compliance review of ‘Functioning of’
Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop
The East Coast Railway has noted that the estimates for coaches requiring POH (periodical overhaul) have been unrealistic, with annual revisions consistently being reduced.
Audit Report No. 2 of 2025 titled ‘Compliance Audit Report: Union Government ( Railways)’ has been presented to both chambers of the legislature.
Parliament
on Thursday.
The statement mentioned that the Audit Report includes findings from the compliance audit regarding the functioning of the operations.
Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop
In the Eastern Coastal Railway project and the development of the fifth and sixth lines from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Kurla Station under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Railways, extending through until the fiscal year 2022-23.
Based on audit findings, the Carriage Repair Workshop located in Mancheswar (CRW/MCS), under the Eastern Coast Railway (ECoR), came into existence in November 1981 with the aim of conducting maintenance repairs on railway carriages. Initially, this workshop could handle up to 45 monthly periodical overhauls; however, this capability expanded to accommodate 100 coach overhauls each month starting from fiscal year 2003-04.
Between 2008 and 2016, the workshop underwent upgrades aimed at increasing its monthly output capacity to handle up to 150 coaches. However, despite this enhanced capability, the actual production levels for the years spanning 2016-17 through 2022-23 fluctuated between 86 and 113 coaches each month.
An audit was carried out to evaluate if the objectives for the workshop were established according to the real POH generated by the facility and met within the designated timeframe. The review also examined challenges concerning increasing the workshop’s operational capacity as well as overseeing equipment and inventory management.
The audit noted that the forecasts for coaches scheduled for Periodical Overhaul (POH) were unrealistic and consistently revised downwards each year. Additionally, there were delays in submitting coaches for POH from the depots, and once sent, the workshops required up to three years to complete these overhauls instead of adhering to the stipulated period of 15-20 days, according to a statement released by the Office of Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
The review further noted that the highest number of delays occurred in the Coach Body Repair Shop.
According to the statement, 191 coaches remained unused for durations between 10 days and 171 days, totaling 6,558 idle coach-days. Additionally, there were 43 cases where the idling period exceeded 50 days.
In August 2012, the Railway Board instructed all Zonal Railways to track coach failures occurring within 100 days after POH and implement corrective measures accordingly.
During the February 2020 meeting of Chief Works Engineers, PCMEs from zonal railways were instructed to guarantee that the standard of work completion remains exceptionally high. Quality metrics such as maintenance checks for POH coaches must be overseen by CWE/CWM personnel. Additionally, an investigation into the underlying causes of all reported issues should be conducted, followed by appropriate corrective actions.
The audit noted that the number of coaches failing within 100 days post-overhaul were 103 in 2018-19 and 139 in 2019-20.
According to the statement, out of 3402 coaches refurbished between 2020 and 2023, 131 coaches malfunctioned within 100 days of undergoingPOH.
The actual POH capacity of the workshop was not accurately reported when communicating with the Railway Board. Even though the POH capability increased to handle 150 coaches monthly starting in 2016, additional expansion projects valued at Rs 181.78 crore were initiated between 2018-19 and 2022-23. This occurred without evaluating whether the current facilities could support these upgrades or predicting future needs effectively.
The audit found that the workshop’s budget was not aligned with the unit costs specified in the code guidelines. Additionally, it did not match the projected requirements for coach overhauls, resulting in an inflated budget.
As per the release, the ownership of coaches at ECoR exhibits significant discrepancies within depot records, zonal headquarters, and the Integrated Coach Management System (ICMS), primarily because live data isn’t being entered.
“The four high-value machines, valued at Rs 4.15 crore, have remained unused for several years because of intrinsic flaws in the machinery. Insufficient acquisition of resources led to stock shortages, causing repeated complaints from departments unable to obtain necessary supplies,” it further stated.
The tracking of POH activities via the Workshop Information System (WISE) app proved ineffective. The statement noted multiple discrepancies between the data recorded in WISE and the manual entries.
Regarding the development of the 5th and 6th lines from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Kurla Station, the audit report indicated that the guidelines set forth by the Railway Board (RB) in June 2008—requiring minimal accommodation provisions solely to fulfill operational needs along with comprehensive estimates accompanied by detailed explanations—were disregarded during the preparation of the Detailed Estimate.
This resulted in an inaccurate Detailed Estimate prepared by Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES), causing delays in its approval by the Railway Board (RB).
The Baseline Socio-Economic (BSE) survey for Phase I work had still not been finalized as of September 2023, over 11 years past the initial target date.
Moreover, the Project Affected Persons (PAPs) did not receive rehabilitation in January 2024 because the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) was unable to finish the building projects in Kilburn and Nahur.
This caused delays in obtaining the land. The failure to follow legal requirements and RBI’s guidelines regarding minimal land requisition led to an overestimation during the detailed cost estimation phase. Additionally, issues with coordination between RITES and state government entities were observed. Such problems exacerbated delays in both the BSE survey and land procurement processes. As of the report date, the land acquisition procedure for Phase II projects extending from Parel to CSMT remained in its early stages.
“The construction contracts were issued without having approved designs and drawings, cleared sites, among others, resulting in delays in completing the work. The audit also noted cases where electrical and S&T materials remained idle because contracts were awarded before confirming that the sites were properly prepared,” the report stated.
The statement indicated inadequate coordination among Zonal Railways, noting that the suggestion to transfer land from Western Railway (WR) to Central Railway (CR) had been sent by CR to WR back in December 2015; however, up until January 2024, WR still hadn’t completed this land transfer. (ANI)
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