Indian Railways

Indian Railways abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking

Government-owned corporation

A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...

 of Government of India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

, which owns and operates most of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways

Ministry of Railways (India)

The Ministry of Railways in India is in charge of the Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport in India. Dinesh Trivedi is the current minister responsible for railways....

 of the Government of India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

.

Indian Railways abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking

Government-owned corporation

A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...

 of Government of India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

, which owns and operates most of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways

Ministry of Railways (India)

The Ministry of Railways in India is in charge of the Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport in India. Dinesh Trivedi is the current minister responsible for railways....

 of the Government of India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

.

Indian Railways has 114500 kilometres (71,147 mi). of total track over a route of 65000 kilometres (40,389 mi)
and 7,500 stations. It has the world's fourth largest railway network after those of the United States

Rail transport in the United States

Presently, most rail transport in the United States is based on freight train shipments. The U.S. rail industry has experienced repeated convulsions due to changing U.S. economic needs and the rise of automobile, bus, and air transport....

, Russia

Russian Railways

The Russian Railways , is the government owned national rail carrier of the Russian Federation, headquartered in Moscow. The Russian Railways operate over of common carrier routes as well as a few hundred kilometers of industrial routes, making it the second largest network in the world exceeded...

 and China

Rail transport in the People's Republic of China

Rail transport is the most commonly used mode of long-distance transportation in the People's Republic of China. Almost all rail operations are handled by the Ministry of Railways, which is part of the State Council of the People's Republic of China...

. The railways traverse the length and breadth of the country and carry over 30 million passengers and 2.8 million tons of freight

Cargo

Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...

 daily.
It is the world's second largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.36 million employees As for rolling stock

Rolling stock

Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...

, IR owns over 240,000 (freight) wagons, 60,000 coaches and 9,000 locomotives.

Railways were first introduced to India in 1853. By 1947, the year of India's independence, there were forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit, becoming one of the largest networks in the world. IR operates both long distance and suburban rail systems on a multi-gauge

Dual gauge

A dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...

 network of broad

Indian gauge

Indian gauge is a track gauge commonly used in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Chile. It is also the gauge that is used on BART , in northern California.- Scotland :...

, metre

Metre gauge

Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...

 and narrow gauges

Rail gauge

Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...

. It also owns locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

 and coach production facilities.

Organisational structure

Indian Railways is a department owned and controlled by the Government of India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

, via the Ministry of Railways

Ministry of Railways (India)

The Ministry of Railways in India is in charge of the Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport in India. Dinesh Trivedi is the current minister responsible for railways....

. As of May 2011, the Railway Ministry is headed by Dinesh Trivedi

Dinesh Trivedi

Dinesh Trivedi is an Indian politician from All India Trinamool Congress is a Member of Parliament of the 15th Lok Sabha representing the Barrackpore , West Bengal. A graduate in commerce from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta and an M.B.A. from the The University of Texas at Austin...

, the Union Minister for Railways, and assisted by two ministers of State for Railways. Indian Railways is administered by the Railway Board

Railway Board (India)

The Indian Railway Board is the apex body of the Indian Railways. It reports to the Parliament of India through the Minister of Railways .-Current members:It currently has the following members:*Chairman Railway Board: Vinay Mittal...

, which has a chairman, five members and a financial commissioner.

Railway zones

Indian Railways is divided into zones, which are further sub-divided into divisions

Divisions of Indian Railways

The Indian Railways is divided into zones, which are further sub-divided into divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. There are a total of sixty-eight divisions....

. The number of zones in Indian Railways increased from six to eight in 1951, nine in 1952, sixteen in 2003 and finally 17 in 2010. Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. There are a total of sixty-eight divisions.

Each of the seventeen zones, including Kolkata Metro

Kolkata Metro

The Kolkata Metro or Calcutta Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the districts of South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas in Indian state of West Bengal. The network consists of one operational line and five lines currently under construction...

, is headed by a General Manager (GM) who reports directly to the Railway Board. The zones are further divided into divisions under the control of Divisional Railway Managers (DRM). The divisional officers of engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal and telecommunication, accounts, personnel, operating, commercial and safety branches report to the respective Divisional Manager and are in charge of operation and maintenance of assets. Further down the hierarchy tree are the Station Masters who control individual stations and the train movement through the track territory under their stations' administration.

Sl. No	Name	Abbr.	Date Established	Route KMs	Headquarters	Divisions
1.	Central	CR	1951-11-05	3905	Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...	Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million... , Bhusawal Bhusawal railway division Bhusawal railway division is one of the five railway division of Central Railway Zone of Indian Railways located at Bhusawal in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra state in western India. The other railway divisions are Mumbai CSTM, Nagpur, Solapur and Pune... , Pune Pune Railway Division Pune Railway Division is one of the divisions of Central Railway Zone of Indian Railways.*Lonavala -Pune Jn-Daund Jn*Pune Jn - Satara - Sangli - Miraj Jn - Kolhapur*Daund Jn - Baramati... , Solapur Solapur Railway Division Solapur Railway Division is one of the divisions of Central Railway Zone of Indian Railways.*Manmad-Ahmednagar-Daund Jn*Daund Jn - Kurudwadi Jn - Solapur*Miraj Jn - Kurudwadi Jn- Pandharpur - Latur - Latur Road... , Nagpur Nagpur Railway Division Nagpur Railway Division is one of the divisions of Central Railway Zone of Indian Railways.*Badnera Jn- Pulgaon Jn - Wardha Jn - Butibori Jn-Nagpur Jn**Pulgaon Jn-Arvi **Butobori Jn - Umrer...
2.	East Central East Central Railway The East Central Railway is one of the sixteen railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Hajipur and comprises Sonpur Samastipur Danapur, Mughalsarai, and Dhanbad divisions .-History:...	ECR	2002-10-01	3628	Hajipur Hajipur Hajipur is the headquarters of Vaishali district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous for producing bananas, and has a modern railway zonal office. Patna, the capital of Bihar is only 10 km from Hajipur...	Danapur Danapur Danapur , sometimes known as Dinapur or Dinapore is a satellite town of Patna in Bihar state of India. It is located on the bank of the River Sone which merges with River Ganges at Digha a few kilometers from Danapur... , Dhanbad Dhanbad Dhanbad features climate that is transitional between a humid subtropical climate and a tropical wet and dry climate. Summer starts from last week of March and ends in mid-June. Peak temperature in summer can reach 47oC. Dhanbad also receives heavy rainfall... , Mughalsarai Mughalsarai Mughalsarai is a city and a municipal board in Chandauli district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located around 10 km from Varanasi, it is an important railway junction of the Indian Railways. Once, it enjoyed the position of the largest railway marshalling yard of Asia... , Samastipur Samastipur Samastipur is a city and a municipality in Samastipur district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is headquarters of the Samastipur district.It is situated on the banks of Burhi Gandak River.-Demographics:... , Sonpur Sonpur See Sonepur for similar names.Sonepur is a town in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the banks of the River Gandak in Saran district in the Indian state of Bihar.-Geography:...
3.	East Coast East Coast Railway The East Coast Railway is one of the sixteen railway zones of Indian Railways came into existence from 1 April 2003.The geographical jurisdiction of this railway zone extends over three states encompressing almost all parts of Orissa along with parts of Srikakulam, Vizainagaram and Visakhapatnam...	ECoR	2003-04-01	2572	Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...	Khurda Road, Sambalpur Sambalpur Sambalpur is a city in Sambalpur district in the Indian state of Orissa.It lies at a distance of 321 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar. In the year 1876, Sambalpur was established as a municipality. It is currently the headquarters and the largest city of Sambalpur district. It is also... , Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
4.	Eastern Eastern Railway (India) The Eastern Railway is one of the 17 zones of the Indian Railways. Its headquarters is at Fairley Place, Kolkata, and comprises four divisions: Howrah, Malda, Sealdah, and Asansol. These are the financial departments and each has an assistant divisional financial manager , divisional railway...	ER	1952-04	2414	Kolkata Kolkata Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...	Howrah, Sealdah Sealdah Sealdah is one of the major train stations serving Kolkata in India, the others being Howrah Station, Shalimar Station and Kolkata Railway Station. Sealdah is one of the busiest rail stations in India and an important suburban rail terminal... , Asansol Asansol Asansol is a coal mining and industrial metropolis and one of the busiest commercial centres in India. It is the second largest city and urban agglomeration in West Bengal after Kolkata and the 19th largest urban agglomeration in India. Asansol is located in the western part of the Burdwan... , Malda
5.	North Central North Central Railway The North Central Railway is one of the sixteen railway zones in India.The largest railway station in NCR is Kanpur Central followed by Mughal Sarai...	NCR	2003-04-01	3151	Allahabad Allahabad Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...	Allahabad Allahabad Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,... , Agra Agra railway division Agra Railway Division comes under the North Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways. The division came into being on the 1st April 2003. It is name for the town of Agra.... , Jhansi Jhansi Jhansi Hindi:झाँसी, , Marathi: झाशी, is a historical city of India. Jhansi is the administrative headquarters of Jhansi District and Jhansi Division. The original walled city grew up around its stone fort, which crowns a neighboring rock. This district is on the bank of river Betwa.The National...
6.	North Eastern North Eastern Railway (India) The North Eastern Railway is one of the sixteen railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Gorakhpur and comprises Lucknow and Varanasi divisions as well as reorganized Izzatnagar division....	NER	1952	3667	Gorakhpur Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is one of the proposed capitals of the Purvanchal state which is yet to be formed...	Izzatnagar Izzatnagar -Famous Attaractions:Izzatnagar is a place in Bareilly in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.#It is one of the Divisional Headquarters of North Eastern Railways.#Izzatnagar is also the location of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute .... , Lucknow Lucknow Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division.... , Varanasi Varanasi -Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
7.	North Western North Western Railway The North Western Railway is one of the sixteen railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Jaipur. It comprises four divisions: Jodhpur and reorganized Bikaner division of the erstwhile Northern Railway and reorganized Jaipur and Ajmer divisions of the erstwhile Western Railway. This zone...	NWR	2002-10-01	5459	Jaipur Jaipur Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....	Jaipur Jaipur Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million.... , Ajmer Ajmer Ajmer , formerly written as Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Rajasthan state in India. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 , and is located west of the Rajasthan state capital Jaipur, 200 km from Jodhpur, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from... , Bikaner, Jodhpur Jodhpur Jodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...
8.	Northeast Frontier Northeast Frontier Railway The Northeast Frontier Railway abbreviated as N F Railway is one of the 16 railway zones in India. Headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam it is responsible for rail operations in the entire Northeast and parts of West Bengal and Bihar...	NFR	1958-01-15	3907	Guwahati Guwahati Guwahati, Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis,the largest city of Assam in India and ancient urban area in North East India, with a population of 963,429. It is also the largest metropolitan area in north-eastern India...	Alipurduar Alipurduar Alipurduar is a sub-divisional municipal city of Jalpaiguri district, and is located at the eastern end of the district. Situated on the east bank of Kaljani River on the foothills of the Himalayas, the town is a gateway to Bhutan and North Eastern states of India... , Katihar Katihar Katihar is a town situated in the north eastern part of Bihar state in India. It is headquarters of Katihar district.- Geography :Katihar is located at... , Rangia Rangia Rangia is a city and a municipal board in Kamrup district in the Indian state of Assam. It is the regional divisional headquarters of the North East Frontier Railway. It's situated 52 kilometres away from the state headquarter Guwahati.-Geography:Rangia is located at... , Lumding Lumding Lumding is a city and a municipal board in Nagaon district in the Indian state of Assam. It is the regional divisional headquarters of the North East Frontier Railway, a big important junction and is famous for the Barak Valley Express which passes through scenic routes.It is the biggest Railway... , Tinsukia Tinsukia Tinsukia is a city and a municipal board in Tinsukia district, Assam, India.Tinsukia is a business city in the Indian state of Assam. It is situated north east of Guwahati and kilometres away from the border with Arunachal Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Tinsukia District of...
9.	Northern Northern Railway (India) The Northern Railways is one of the 16 zones and the northernmost zone of the Indian Railways. Its headquarters is in Delhi at New Delhi Railway Station....	NR	1952-04-14	6968	Delhi Delhi Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...	Delhi Delhi Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census... , Ambala Ambala Ambala is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border of the states of Haryana and Punjab in India. Politically; Ambala has two sub-areas: Ambala Cantt and Ambala City, approximately 3 kilometers apart from each other... , Firozpur Firozpur Firozpur is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India, founded by Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq , a Muslim ruler of the Tughlaq Dynasty who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388.The Manj Rajputs say the town was named after their chief, a Rajput of... , Lucknow Lucknow Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division.... , Moradabad Moradabad Moradabad is a city and a municipal corporation in Moradabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established in 1600 by prince Murad, the son of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan; as a result the city came to be known as Moradabad. It is the administrative headquarters of...
10.	South Central South Central Railway The South Central Railway is one of the 16 railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Secunderabad and has the following divisions:# Secunderabad# Hyderabad# Guntakal # Vijayawada# Guntur# Nanded...	SCR	1966-10-02	5803	Secunderabad Secunderabad Railway Station Secunderabad Railway Station , also referred as Secunderabad Junction, is a major intercity rail station and a commuter rail hub in the Hyderabad Urban Area. It is located in the city of Secunderabad and falls under the South Central Railway zone of Indian Railways...	Secunderabad Secunderabad Secunderabad popularly known as the twin city of Hyderabad is located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh north of Hyderabad. Named after Sikandar Jah, the third Nizam of the Asaf Jahi dynasty, Secunderabad was founded in 1806 AD as a British cantonment... , Hyderabad, Guntakal Guntakal Guntakal is a town in Anantapur district in the southwestern part of the state of Andhra Pradesh and 50 km away from Bellary of Karnataka, India. It has a population of 2,26,658... , Guntur Guntur division Guntur Railway Division is one of the six divisions of South Central Railway , a zone of the Indian Railways. SCR has its head quarters at Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh and serves almost the whole of the state of Andhra Pradesh, a large part of Maharashtra along with small portions of Madhya... , Nanded Nanded Nanded is the second largest city in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, India. It is also headquarters of Nanded district in the Marathwada Division of the state. It is an important holy place for the Sikh faith and is famous for the Hazur Sahib Gurudwara. It is the district headquarters once... , Vijayawada Vijayawada Vijayawada is the third largest city in Andhra Pradesh, India, located on the banks of the Krishna River and bounded by the Indrakiladri Hills on the West and the Budameru River on the North. The city is located in the Krishna District, about from the state capital Hyderabad.Vijayawada literally...
11.	South East Central South East Central Railway The South East Central Railway is one of the sixteen railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Bilaspur and comprises Nagpur division, reorganized Bilaspur division of South Eastern Railway and new Raipur division....	SECR	2003-04-01	2447	Bilaspur Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh Bilaspur is a city in Bilaspur District in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, situated 111 km north of state capital, Raipur. It is the second-largest city in the state. It is the administrative headquarter of Bilaspur district...	Bilaspur Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh Bilaspur is a city in Bilaspur District in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, situated 111 km north of state capital, Raipur. It is the second-largest city in the state. It is the administrative headquarter of Bilaspur district... , Raipur, Nagpur Nagpur Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
12.	South Eastern South Eastern Railway (India) The South Eastern Railway is one of the sixteen railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Garden Reach, Kolkata. It comprises four divisions:# Adra Railway Division# Chakradharpur Railway Division# Kharagpur Railway Division...	SER	1955	2631	Kolkata Kolkata Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...	Adra Adra (India) Adra is a census town in Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is an important railway centre.-Geography:The major sub-divisions of Adra are Beniasole, Palashkola, Jhariadih, Panchudanga, Laldanga, daulatpur, Arabinda Pally, medical colony, childrens park and SER colonies .The... , Chakradharpur Chakradharpur Chakradharpur is a city and a municipality in West Singhbhum district in the state of Jharkhand, India. It is located on the Chota Nagpur Plateau 62 Kilometers west of Jamshedpur, 115 Kilometers south of Ranchi, 101 Kilometers east of Rourkela and 24 Kilometers north of Chaibasa... , Kharagpur Kharagpur Kharagpur is an industrial city in India. It is located in the Midnapore West district of the state of West Bengal.Kharagpur was chosen as the location of the first campus of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology . The IITs are the premier technical education institutes in India and... , Ranchi Ranchi -Climate:Ranchi has a humid subtropical climate. However, due to its position and the forests around the city, it is known for its pleasant climate. Its climate is the primary reason why Ranchi was once the summer capital of the undivided State of Bihar...
13.	South Western South Western Railway The South Western Railway is one of the 16 railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Hubli and comprises Bangalore, Mysore divisions of the erstwhile Southern Railway and the reorganized Hubli division of the erstwhile South Central Railway which includes Hospet and Bellary. The division...	SWR	2003-04-01	3177	Hubli	Hubli, Bangalore Bangalore Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and... , Mysore
14.	Southern Southern Railway (India) The Southern Railway is the earliest of the 16 zones of the Indian Railways created in independent India. It was created on April 14, 1951 by merging three state railways namely Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway, and the Mysore State Railway. The South Indian Railway...	SR	1951-04-014	5098	Chennai Chennai Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...	Chennai Chennai Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India... , Tiruchirappalli, Madurai Madurai Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and... , Palakkad Palakkad Railway Division Palakad Railway Division is one of the 6 divisions of the Southern Railway Zone of India, and is the oldest in Kerala. It is headquartered in Palakkad. Palakkad Division was one of the biggest railway divisions in Southern Railway... , Salem, Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram Railway division Thiruvananthapuram Railway division is one of the 6 divisions of the Southern Railway Zone of India. Its headquarters is in Thiruvananthapuram. It was the 53rd Division in the country, was carved out of the Palakkad Division and started in October 1979...  (Thiruvananthapuram)
15.	West Central West Central Railway The West Central Railway, one of the 16 zones of the Indian Railways, came into existence on April 1, 2003. It is headquartered at Jabalpur.-History:...	WCR	2003-04-01	2965	Jabalpur	Jabalpur, Bhopal, Kota Kota, Rajasthan Kota , formerly known as Kotah, is a city in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located south of state capital, Jaipur. Situated on the banks of Chambal River, the city is the trade centre for an area in which millet, wheat, rice, pulses, coriander and oilseeds are grown; industries...
16.	Western Western Railway (India) The Western Railway is one of the 16 zones of Indian Railways, and is among the busiest railway networks in India. The major railway routes of Indian Railways which come under Western Railways are: Ratlam - Mumbai Central, Surat - Mumbai, Surat - Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad - Vadodara and Palanpur -...	WR	1951-11-05	6182	Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...	Mumbai Central Mumbai Central Mumbai Central , previously known as Bombay Central, is a major intercity railway station and a commuter station in Mumbai. It was designed by the british architect Claude Batley. It serves as the terminal for several long distance trains operated by Western Railway. The station is located in south... , Ratlam Ratlam Ratlam , known historically as Ratnapuri, is a city in the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh state of central India. The town of Ratlam lies 480 m above sea level. It is the administrative headquarters of Ratlam District.... , Ahmedabad Ahmedabad Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad... , Rajkot, Bhavnagar Bhavnagar -Topography:Bhavnagar is a coastal city in the eastern coast of Saurashtra, also known as Kathiawar, located at . It has an average elevation of 24 metres . It occupies area of 53.30 km². General slope dips in the northeasterly direction at the apex of Gulf of Khambhat... , Vadodara Vadodara Vadodara formerly known as Baroda is the third most populated city in the Indian State of Gujarat . It is one of the four cities with the population of over 1 million...
17.	Kolkata Metro Kolkata Metro The Kolkata Metro or Calcutta Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the districts of South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas in Indian state of West Bengal. The network consists of one operational line and five lines currently under construction...		2010-12-25	24.5	Kolkata Kolkata Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC), that has constructed and operates Delhi Metro

Delhi Metro

Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system serving Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad in the National Capital Region of India. It is one of the largest metro networks in the world. The network consists of six lines with a total length of with 142 stations of which 35 are underground...

 network, is an independent organisation not connected to the Indian Railways.

Recruitment and training

With approximately 1.36 million employees, Indian Railways is the world's second largest employer. Staff are classified into gazetted (Group 'A' and 'B') and non-gazetted (Group 'C' and 'D') employees. The recruitment of Group 'A' gazetted employees is carried out by the Union Public Service Commission

Union Public Service Commission

The Union Public Service Commission is the central agency authorized to conduct the Civil Services Examination for entry-level appointments to the various Civil Services of India. The agency's charter is granted by the Constitution of India...

 through exams conducted by it. The recruitment to Group 'C' and 'D' employees on the Indian Railways is done through 19 Railway Recruitment Boards which are controlled by the Railway Recruitment Control Board (RRCB). The training of all cadres is entrusted and shared between six centralised training institutes.
These are following list of Group A services which are recruited by the UPSC(Union Public Service Commission ) of India


UPSC

Union Public Service Commission

The Union Public Service Commission is the central agency authorized to conduct the Civil Services Examination for entry-level appointments to the various Civil Services of India. The agency's charter is granted by the Constitution of India...

 Civil Services Exam

Civil Services Examination

The Civil Services Examination is a nationwide competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to the various Civil Services of the Government of India, including Indian Administrative Service , Indian Foreign Service , Indian Police Service and...

 

1) Indian Railway Traffic Service

Indian Railway Traffic Service

The Indian Railway Traffic Service is an organized Group 'A' service of the Government of India. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Transportation - Operations and Commercial wings - of the Indian Railways...

, Group ‘A’.

2) Indian Railway Accounts Service

Indian Railway Accounts Service

The Indian Railway Accounts Service ' is a Group A Central Service of the Government of India. The officers of this service are responsible for Accounts and Finance Management of the Indian Railways...

, Group 'A'.

3) Indian Railway Personnel Service

Indian Railway Personnel Service

The Indian Railway Personnel Service is a cadre of the Group-A services of the Government of India. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Human Resources of the Indian Railways which has a work force of about 1.4 million employees....

, Group ‘A’.

4) Railway Protection Force

Railway Protection Force

The Railway Protection force is an Indian Central Armed Police Force charged with protecting the Indian Railways.The strength of RPF is about 65,000.The duties of the Railway Protection Force include:...

, Group ‘A’


UPSC

Union Public Service Commission

The Union Public Service Commission is the central agency authorized to conduct the Civil Services Examination for entry-level appointments to the various Civil Services of India. The agency's charter is granted by the Constitution of India...

 Engineering Services Exam

Indian Engineering Services

Indian Engineering Services are the Technical Services that meet the technical and managerial functions of the Government of India. Government spending comprises more than 15 percent of India's GDP...

 

1) Indian Railway Service of Engineers

Indian Railway Service of Engineers

The Indian Railway Service of Engineers is a cadre of the Government of India. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Civil Engineering Organisation of the Indian Railways-Recruitment:...

, Group ‘A’

2) Indian Railway Stores Service

Indian Railway Stores Service

The Indian Railways Stores Service is a cadre of the Government of India. The officers of this service are the procurement and logistics specialists, contract managers on the IR, providers of logistics for the transportation of material from and within various railways as well as the planners and...

, Group ‘A’

3) Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers

Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers

The Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering is a cadre of the Government of India. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Mechanical Engineering Organisation of the Indian Railways-Recruitment:...

, Group ‘A’

4) Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers

Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers

The Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers is a cadre of the Government of India. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Electrical Engineering Organisation of the Indian Railways....

, Group ‘A’

5) Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers

Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers

The Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers is a Group A Gazetted cadre of the Government of India. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Signals and Telecommunications Engineering Organisation of the Indian Railways...

, Group ‘A’


UPSC

Union Public Service Commission

The Union Public Service Commission is the central agency authorized to conduct the Civil Services Examination for entry-level appointments to the various Civil Services of India. The agency's charter is granted by the Constitution of India...

 Special Class Railway Apprentice

Special Class Railway Apprentice

Special Class Railway Apprentices' refers to a handful of candidates that are selected by the Union Public Service Commission India, after a rigorous selection process, to the undergraduate program in Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering...

 Examination for recruitment to the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers

Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers

The Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering is a cadre of the Government of India. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Mechanical Engineering Organisation of the Indian Railways-Recruitment:...

Production units

Indian Railways manufactures much of its rolling stock

Rolling stock

Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...

 and heavy engineering components at its six manufacturing plants, called Production Units, which are managed directly by the Ministry. Popular rolling stock builders such as CLW and DLW

Diesel Locomotive Works

The Diesel Locomotive Works in Varanasi, India, is a production unit owned by Indian Railways, for which it manufactures diesel-electric locomotives and spare parts.-Company:...

 for electric and diesel locomotives; ICF

Integral Coach Factory

Started in 1952, the Integral Coach Factory is located in Chennai, India. Its primary products are rail coaches. Most of the coaches manufactured are supplied to the Indian Railways, but it has also manufactured coaches for railway companies in other countries, including Thailand, Burma, Taiwan,...

 and RCF

Rail Coach Factory

Established in 1986, the Rail Coach Factory was the second coach manufacturing unit of Indian Railways. Its foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister of India Mr. Rajiv Gandhi...

 for passenger coaches are Production Units of Indian Railways. Over the years, Indian Railways has not only achieved self-sufficiency in production of rolling stock in the country but also exported rolling stock to other countries. Each of these six production units is headed by a General Manager, who also reports directly to the Railway Board. The six Production Units are:-

Sl. No	Name	Abbr.	Year Established	Location	Main products
1.	Chittaranjan Locomotive Works	CLW	1947	Chittaranjan Chittaranjan Chittaranjan is a census town in Asansol subdivision of Burdwan District in the state of West Bengal, India. This is famous for Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, a Indian Government railway factory.-Geography:...	Electric Locomotives
2.	Diesel Locomotive Works Diesel Locomotive Works The Diesel Locomotive Works in Varanasi, India, is a production unit owned by Indian Railways, for which it manufactures diesel-electric locomotives and spare parts.-Company:...	DLW	1961	Varanasi Varanasi -Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...	Diesel-electric Locomotives
3.	Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works, formerly Diesel Component works, is located in Patiala in the Indian state of Punjab. Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works was setup in the year 1981 to extend the service life of Diesel Locomotives of the Indian Railways and significantly raise the level of their...	DMW	1981	Patiala	Diesel-electric Locomotives
4.	Integral Coach Factory Integral Coach Factory Started in 1952, the Integral Coach Factory is located in Chennai, India. Its primary products are rail coaches. Most of the coaches manufactured are supplied to the Indian Railways, but it has also manufactured coaches for railway companies in other countries, including Thailand, Burma, Taiwan,...	ICF	1952	Chennai Chennai Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...	Passenger coaches
5.	Rail Coach Factory Rail Coach Factory Established in 1986, the Rail Coach Factory was the second coach manufacturing unit of Indian Railways. Its foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister of India Mr. Rajiv Gandhi...	RCF	1986	Kapurthala Kapurthala Kapurthala is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the capital of the Kapurthala State, a princely state in British India. The secular and aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent buildings based on French and Indo-Saracenic...	Passenger coaches
6.	Rail Wheel Factory Rail Wheel Factory Rail Wheel Factory at Yelahanka, Bangalore is a premier manufacturing unit of Indian Railways, which is engaged in the production of wheels, axles and wheel sets of railroad wagons, coaches and locomotives for the use of the Indian Railways and select overseas customers. It was commissioned in...	RWF	1984	Bangalore Bangalore Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...	Railway wheels and axles

Other subsidiaries

There also exist independent organisations under the control of the Railway Board for electrification

Central Organization For Railway Electrification

The Central Organization for Railway Electrification , has its headquarters at Allahabad, India. It is in overall charge of railway electrification over the entire network of Indian Railways. However of late, some electrification works have been entrusted to Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, a Public...

, modernisation, research and design and training of officers

Railway Staff College

The Railway Staff College is the management training institute for the officers of the Indian Railways. The college trains not only newly appointed officers but also senior managers and executives...

, each of which is headed by an officer of the rank of General Manager. A number of Public Sector Undertakings, which perform railway-related functions ranging from consultancy to ticketing, are also under the administrative control of the Ministry of railways.

There are eleven public undertakings under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways, viz.

• Rail India Technical and Economic Services Limited (RITES);
• Indian Railway Construction (IRCON) International Limited;
• Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (IRFC);
• Container Corporation of India
  Container Corporation of India
  Container Corporation of India Ltd. is a Navratna Public Sector undertaking under the Indian Ministry of Railways. Incorporated in March 1988 under the Companies Act, Concor commenced operations in November 1989 taking over an existing network of seven inland container depots from Indian Railways...
  
   Limited (CONCOR);
• Konkan Railway Corporation Limited
  Konkan Railway
  The Konkan Railway is a railway line which runs along the Konkan coast of India. It was constructed and is operated by the Konkan Railway Corporation...
  
   (KRCL).
• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC);
• Railtel Corporation of India
  Railtel Corporation of India
  Railtel Corporation of India is a Government of India enterprise focusing on providing broadband and VPN services. RailTel was formed in Sept 2000 with the objective of creating nation-wide broadband, telecom and multimedia network, to modernize Train Control Operation and Safety System of Indian...
  
   Limited (Rail Tel);
• Mumbai Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (MRVNL);
• Rail Vikas Nigam Limited
  Rail Vikas Nigam Limited
  Rail Vikas Nigam Limited is an organisation associated with Indian Railways whose task is to build engineering works required by Indian Railways.-Background:...
  
   (RVNL); and
• Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India
  Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India
  The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited is a corporation run by the Government of India to undertake planning & development, mobilisation of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the Dedicated Freight Corridors...
  
   Limited (DFCCIL); and
• Bharat Wagon and Engineering Co. Ltd.
  Bharat Wagon and Engineering
  Bharat Wagon and Engineering Limited is a Public Sector Undertaking of the Government of India and is a subsidiary of Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam . Established in 1978, BWEL is the largest rail wagon manufacturer in India...
  
   (BWFL).

The Centre for Railway Information Systems

Centre for Railway Information Systems

The Centre for Railway Information Systems located in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, was established as a registered society in 1986 by the Ministry of Railways of India, as an umbrella organization for all computer activities on Indian Railways...

 (CRIS) was set up as a registered society to design and implement various railway computerization projects.

Locomotives

Indian railways uses a number of different diesel-electric, diesel-hydraulic and electric locomotives. Steam locomotives were once very common but are now only used on heritage routes.

Track and gauge

Indian railways uses four gauges, the broad gauge

Indian gauge

Indian gauge is a track gauge commonly used in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Chile. It is also the gauge that is used on BART , in northern California.- Scotland :...

 which is wider than the standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

; the metre gauge

Metre gauge

Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...

; and two narrow gauges, and . Track sections are rated for speeds ranging from 75 to 160 km/h (46.6 to 99.4 mph).

The total length of track used by Indian Railways was about 114000 km (70,836.5 mi) while the total route length of the network was 64215 km (39,901.5 mi) on 31 March 2011. About 33% of the route-kilometre and 44% of the total track kilometre was electrified on 31 March 2011.
Broad gauge

Indian gauge

Indian gauge is a track gauge commonly used in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Chile. It is also the gauge that is used on BART , in northern California.- Scotland :...

 is the predominant gauge used by Indian Railways. Indian broad gauge

Indian gauge

Indian gauge is a track gauge commonly used in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Chile. It is also the gauge that is used on BART , in northern California.- Scotland :...

——is the most widely used gauge in India with 102000 km (63,380 mi) of track length (90% of entire track length of all the gauges) and 54,600 km of route-kilometre (85% of entire route-kilometre of all the gauges) on 31 March 2011.

In some regions with less traffic, the metre gauge is common, although the Unigauge project is in progress to convert

Gauge conversion

In rail transport, gauge conversion is the process of converting a railway from one rail gauge to another, through the alteration of the railway tracks...

 all tracks to broad gauge. The metre gauge had about 9000 km (5,592.4 mi) of track length (7.9% of entire track length of all the gauges) and 7,500 km of route-kilometre (11.6% of entire route-kilometre of all the gauges) on 31 March 2011.

The Narrow gauges are present on a few routes, lying in hilly terrains and in some erstwhile private railways (on cost considerations), which are usually difficult to convert to broad gauge. Narrow gauges had a total of 2,400 route-kilometre on 31 March 2011. The Kalka-Shimla Railway

Kalka-Shimla Railway

The Kalka–Shimla Railway is a narrow gauge railway in North-West India travelling along a mostly mountainous route from Kalka to Shimla. It is known for breathtaking views of the hills and surrounding villages.- History :...

, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a railway in Tamil Nadu, India, built by the British in 1908, and was initially operated by the Madras Railway Company. The railway still relies on its fleet of steam locomotives. NMR comes under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Salem Division...

 and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, nicknamed the "Toy Train", is a narrow gauge railway from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling in West Bengal, run by the Indian Railways....

 are three notable hill lines

Mountain railway

A mountain railway is a railway that ascends and descends a mountain slope that has a steep grade. Such railways can use a number of different technologies to overcome the steepness of the grade...

 that use narrow gauge.
Those three will not be converted under the Unigauge project.
The share of broad gauge in the total route-kilometre has been steadily rising, increasing from 47% (25,258 route-km) in 1951 to 85% in 2011 whereas the share of metre gauge has declined from 45% (24,185 route-km) to less than 12% in the same period and the share of narrow gauges has decreased from 8% to 3%. However, the total route-kilometre has increased by only 18% (by just 10,000 km from 53,596 route-km in 1951) in the last sixty years. This compares very poorly with Chinese railways, which increased from about 27,000 route-km at the end of second world war to about 100,000 route-km in 2011, an increase of more than threefold. More than 28,000 route-km (34% of the total route-km) of Chinese railway is electrified compared to only about 21,000 route-km of Indian railways.

Double decker AC trains have been introduced in India. The first double decker train was Flying Rani introduced in 2005 while the first double decker AC train in the Indian Railways was introduced in November 2010, running between the Dhanbad

Dhanbad

Dhanbad features climate that is transitional between a humid subtropical climate and a tropical wet and dry climate. Summer starts from last week of March and ends in mid-June. Peak temperature in summer can reach 47oC. Dhanbad also receives heavy rainfall...

 and Howrah stations having 10 coaches and 2 power cars.

Sleepers

Railroad tie

A railroad tie/railway tie , or railway sleeper is a rectangular item used to support the rails in railroad tracks...

 (ties) coaches are made up of prestressed concrete

Prestressed concrete

Prestressed concrete is a method for overcoming concrete's natural weakness in tension. It can be used to produce beams, floors or bridges with a longer span than is practical with ordinary reinforced concrete...

, or steel or cast iron posts, though teak

Teak

Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...

 sleepers are still in use on few older lines. The prestressed concrete sleeper is in wide use today. Metal sleepers were extensively used before the advent of concrete sleepers. Indian Railways divides the country into four zones on the basis of the range of track temperature. The greatest temperature variations occur in Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

.

Traction

As of 31 March 2011, 21,014 km of the total 64,215 km route length is electrified. Since 1960, almost all electrified sections on IR use 25,000 V AC

Alternating current

In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....

 traction through overhead catenary

Overhead lines

Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...

 delivery. A major exception is the entire Mumbai section, which uses 1,500 V DC. and is currently undergoing change to the 25,000 V AC system. Another exception is the Kolkata Metro

Kolkata Metro

The Kolkata Metro or Calcutta Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the districts of South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas in Indian state of West Bengal. The network consists of one operational line and five lines currently under construction...

, which uses 750 V DC delivered through a third rail

Third rail

A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...

.

Traction voltages are changed at two places close to Mumbai

Mumbai

Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

. Central Railway trains passing through Kasara and Karjat

Karjat

Karjat is a city, a Municipal Council, a Tahsil and a sub-district in Raigad district, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra.-Geography:...

 switch from AC to DC using a neutral section near Kalyan. Western Railway

Western Railway (India)

The Western Railway is one of the 16 zones of Indian Railways, and is among the busiest railway networks in India. The major railway routes of Indian Railways which come under Western Railways are: Ratlam - Mumbai Central, Surat - Mumbai, Surat - Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad - Vadodara and Palanpur -...

 trains switch power on the fly, in a section near Dahisar

Dahisar

Dahisar is a suburb of Mumbai. It is also the name of a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway railway line, situated in Dahisar suburb. Located on the city limits of Mumbai, Dahisar is the last suburb and railway station within the Mumbai Suburban District; past...

, where the train continues with its own momentum for about 30 m through an unelectrified section of catenary called a dead zone. All electric engines and EMUs operating in this section are the necessary AC/DC dual system type (classified "WCAM" by IndianRailways).

Railway links to adjacent countries

Bhutan – railways under construction – Same gauge Nepal – Break-of-gauge

Break-of-gauge

With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded...

 – Gauge conversion under unigauge project Pakistan – same Broad Gauge. Thar Express

Thar Express

Thar Express is an international train that connects Karachi, Pakistan to Bhagat Ki Kothi, India. Six kilometres apart, Munabao and Khokhrapar are the two last railway stations of the India-Pakistan border. Jamrao, Mirpur Khas, Shadi Pali, Saeendad, Barmer, Pithoro, Dhoro Naro, and Chhore are some...

 to Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

 and the more famous Samjhauta Express

Samjhauta Express

The Samjhauta Express commonly called the Friendship Express, is a twice-weekly train Tuesdays and Fridays that runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Lahore in Pakistan. The word samjhauta means "Understanding","accord" and "compromise" in both Hindi and Urdu.Until the reopening of the Thar...

 international train from Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

, Pakistan to Amritsar

Amritsar

Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...

 (Attari). Bangladesh – Same Broad Gauge. The Maitri Express between Dhaka

Dhaka

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...

 and Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

 started in April 2008 using the Gede-Darsana route. Myanmar – Manipur to Myanmar (under construction) Vietnam – On 9 April 2010, Union Minister of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala...

 announced that the central government is considering a rail link from Manipur to Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 via Myanmar

Myanmar

Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

. China – Indian Railways and rail authorities in People's Republic of China are interested in constructing a high-speed rail link that would link New Delhi with Kunming

Kunming

' is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government...

, China via Myanmar.

Services

Passenger

Indian Railways transports 30 million passengers daily across twenty-eight states and two union territories. Sikkim

Sikkim

Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

 and Meghalaya

Meghalaya

Meghalaya is a state in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means the Abode of Clouds in Sanskrit and other Indic languages. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country about 300 km long and 100 km wide, with a total area of about 8,700 sq mi . The...

 are the only states not connected by rail.
A standard passenger train consists of eighteen coaches, but popular trains can have up to 26 coaches.

Coaches are designed to accommodate anywhere from 18 to 108 passengers, but during the holiday seasons and/or on busy routes, more passengers may travel in unreserved coaches. Most regular trains have coaches connected through vestibules. However, 'unreserved coaches' are not connected with the rest of the train via any vestibule.

Reservation against cancellation service is a provision for shared berth

Berth (sleeping)

The word berth was originally used to describe beds and sleeping accommodation on boats and ships and has now been extended to refer to similar facilities on trains, aircraft and buses.-Beds in boats or ships:...

 in case the travel ticket is not confirmed.

The last timetabled passenger service running under steam locomotive power ended in 2000, in Gujarat. All current passenger service is provided using electric or diesel locomotives, except for the rack section of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) which still relies on Swiss-built X class steamers to do the job.

Types of passenger services

Trains are classified by their average speed. A faster train has fewer stops ("halts") than a slower one and usually caters to long-distance travel.

Rank	Train	Description
1	Duronto Express Duronto Express Duronto Express is a category of long distance trains on Indian Railways. The special feature of these trains is that they run non-stop from source to destination, barring technical halts. All Duronto Express trains can be easily recognized by the characteristic yellow-green livery of their...	These are the non-stop point to point rail services (except for operational stops) introduced for the first time in 2009 . These trains connect the metros and major state capitals of India and are faster than Rajdhani Express.These trains are now of the Highest Priority to the Indian Railways. The Duronto services consists of classes of accommodation namely first AC, two-tier AC, three-tier AC, AC 3 Tier Economy, Sleeper Class, General Class.
2	Rajdhani Express Rajdhani Express Rajdhani Express is a passenger train service in India connecting New Delhi with other important destinations, especially state capitals. Rajdhani means "The Capital" in Hindi.- History :...	These are all air-conditioned trains linking major cities to New Delhi. The Rajdhanis have high priority and are one of the fastest trains in India, travelling at about 140 km/h (87 mph). There are only a few stops on a Rajdhani route.
3	Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdi Express Shatabdi Express Shatabdi Express trains are a series of fast passenger trains operated by Indian Railways to connect Metro cities with other cities important for tourism, pilgrimage or business...	The Shatabdi trains are AC intercity seater-type trains for travel during day. Jan-Shatabdi trains consists of both AC and non-AC classes.
4	Garib Rath Garib Rath The Garib Rath express train is one of the premier trains introduced by the Indian Railways in 2005 by Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to provide fully air-conditioned travel to those passengers who could not afford the expensive tickets of the fully air-conditioned coaches as in Rajdhani...	Fully air conditioned trains, designed for those who cannot afford to travel in the expensive Shatabti and Rajdhani Express. Garib Rath means "Chariot of the Poor". The maximum speed is 130 km/h.
5	Superfast Mail/Express Superfast Mail/Express Superfast Mail/Express trains are faster Express rail service of India with Superfast charge levied over Mail/Express charges. Superfast trains make small number of stops, unlike Mail/Express and hence cover the same distance in marginally lower time span, as compared to their counterparts...	These are trains that have an average speed greater than 55 km/h (34 mph). Tickets for these trains have an additional super-fast surcharge.
6	Mail/Express Mail/Express Mail/Express trains are Regular Express rail service of India. Express trains make small number of stops, unlike Passenger/Local train. In some cases, trains run express where there is overlapping local train service available, and run local at the tail ends of the line, where there is no...	These are the most common kind of trains in India. They have more stops than their super-fast counterparts, but they stop only at relatively important intermediate stations.
7	Rajya Rani Express Rajya Rani Express Rajya Rani trains are a series of express trains operated by Indian Railways to connect state capitals with other cities important for tourism, pilgrimage or business.-History:...	These are a series of express trains operated by Indian Railways to connect state capitals with other cities important for tourism, pilgrimage or business.
8	Passenger Passenger A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....  and Fast Passenger Fast Passenger Fast Passenger trains are Fast Passenger local train rail service of India. Fast Passenger skips some stops, in route of Passenger/Local train. In some cases, trains run as Fast Passenger/local train in some section, while run local at different section....	These are slow trains that stop at most stations along the route and are the cheapest trains. The trains generally have unreserved seating accommodation but some night trains have sleeper and 3A compartments.
9	Suburban trains	These trains operate in urban areas, usually stop at all stations and have unreserved seating accommodation.

Suburban rail

Many cities have their own dedicated suburban networks to cater to commuters. The suburban networks in Mumbai

Mumbai Suburban Railway

The Mumbai Suburban Railway system, part of the public transport system of Mumbai, is provided for by the state-run Indian Railways' two zonal Western Railways and Central Railways. The system carries more than 6.99 million commuters on a daily basis. It has the highest passenger densities of any...

, Chennai (Chennai MRTS and Chennai suburban railway

Chennai suburban railway

Chennai suburban railway is a commuter rail system in the Indian city of Chennai operated by the Southern Railway. Chennai has a complex railway network. The system uses electrical multiple units operating on alternating current drawn from over-head cables through the catenary system...

), Kolkata

Kolkata Suburban Railway

The Kolkata Suburban Railway is the rail system for the suburbs surrounding the city of Kolkata . Railways such as this are important and heavily-used infrastructure in India....

, Delhi

Delhi Suburban Railway

Delhi Suburban Railway services is a commuter rail service operated by Northern Railway zone of the Indian railways for the National Capital Region. This Railway services covers the city state of Delhi, along with the adjoining districts of Faridabad,Ghaziabad and other adjoining places in Haryana...

, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...

, Pune and Lucknow-Kanpur

Lucknow-Kanpur Suburban Railway

Lucknow-Kanpur Suburban Railway System is a commuter rail service operated by Northern Railways, North Central Railway and North Eastern Railway to connect administrative capital Lucknow with the economic and industrial capital Kanpur of the state Uttar Pradesh. These services are mostly run...

 are part of the Indian Railways. Hyderabad, Pune and Lucknow-Kanpur do not have dedicated suburban tracks but share the tracks with long distance trains. Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

 and Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

 have their own metro networks (which are not part of the Indian Railways), namely the Delhi Metro

Delhi Metro

Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system serving Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad in the National Capital Region of India. It is one of the largest metro networks in the world. The network consists of six lines with a total length of with 142 stations of which 35 are underground...

( also runs in the cities of Gurgaon

Gurgaon

Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...

 and Noida

Noida

Noida , short for the New Okhla Industrial Development Area, is an area in India under the management of the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority . Noida came into administrative existence on 17 April 1976 and celebrates 17 April as "Noida Day". It was set up as part of an urbanization...

), the Kolkata Metro

Kolkata Metro

The Kolkata Metro or Calcutta Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the districts of South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas in Indian state of West Bengal. The network consists of one operational line and five lines currently under construction...

, and the Bangalore Metro

Bangalore Metro

Namma Metro , also known as Bangalore Metro , is a mass-transit rail system for the city of Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The agency responsible for its implementation is the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd . The first stretch between Baiyyappanahalli to M.G. Road was inaugurated on October...

, with dedicated tracks mostly laid on a flyover.

Suburban trains that handle commuter traffic are mostly electric multiple units. They usually have nine coaches or sometimes twelve to handle rush hour traffic. One unit of an EMU train consists of one power car and two general coaches. Thus a nine coach EMU is made up of three units having one power car at each end and one at the middle. The rakes in Mumbai

Mumbai Suburban Railway

The Mumbai Suburban Railway system, part of the public transport system of Mumbai, is provided for by the state-run Indian Railways' two zonal Western Railways and Central Railways. The system carries more than 6.99 million commuters on a daily basis. It has the highest passenger densities of any...

 run on direct current

Direct current

Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...

, while those elsewhere use alternating current

Alternating current

In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....

. A standard coach is designed to accommodate 96 seated passengers, but the actual number of passengers can easily double or triple with standees during rush hour.

Metros

Rapid transit in India

Rapid Transit in India consists of Metros, one Metro-like elevated Urban Rail system and Monorails. The first modern rapid transit in India was the Kolkata Metro Railway, with operations starting in 1984. Chennai MRTS acts as second urban mass transit system since 1997 and differs from country's...

 are being planned and implemented in many Indian cities. Except for the Kolkata Metro

Kolkata Metro

The Kolkata Metro or Calcutta Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the districts of South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas in Indian state of West Bengal. The network consists of one operational line and five lines currently under construction...

, which is run by the Indian Railways, all the new metros (including the Delhi Metro

Delhi Metro

Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system serving Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad in the National Capital Region of India. It is one of the largest metro networks in the world. The network consists of six lines with a total length of with 142 stations of which 35 are underground...

, Bangalore Metro

Bangalore Metro

Namma Metro , also known as Bangalore Metro , is a mass-transit rail system for the city of Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The agency responsible for its implementation is the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd . The first stretch between Baiyyappanahalli to M.G. Road was inaugurated on October...

 and Jaipur Metro

Jaipur Metro

The Jaipur Metro is a rapid transit under construction in the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Construction of the first part of the first line, comprising 9.2 km from Mansarovar to Chandpol, started on November 13, 2010.- Background :...

) are being operated under the provisions of the Delhi Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act 2002, under the Ministry of Urban Development

Ministry of Urban Development (India)

The Ministry of Urban Development , a branch of the Government of India, is the apex bodyfor formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in India. As of February 2011, head of the ministry is the Cabinet Minister Kamal Nath...

 (including their safety certification).

Accommodation classes

Several long trains are composed of two to three classes of travel, such as a 1st and 2nd classes which have different pricing systems for various amenities. The 1st Class refers to coaches with separate cabins, coaches can be air-conditioned or non air-conditioned.

Further, other AC classes can have 2 or 3 tier berths, with higher prices for the former, 3-tier non-AC coaches or 2nd class seating coaches, which are popular among passengers going on shorter journeys.

In air-conditioned sleeper classes passengers are provided with sheets, pillows and blankets. Meals and refreshments are provided, to all the passengers of reserved classes, either through the on-board pantry service or through special catering arrangements in trains without pantry car. Unreserved coach passengers have options of purchasing from licensed vendors either on board or on the platform of intermediate stops.

The amenities depend on the popularity and length of the route. Lavatories are communal and feature both the Indian style as well as the Western style.

The following table lists the classes in operation. Not all classes may be attached to a rake though.

Class	Description
1A	The First class AC: This is the most expensive class, where the fares are on par with airlines. Bedding is included with the fare in IR. This air conditioned coach is present only on popular routes between metropolitan cities and can carry 18 passengers. The coaches are carpeted, have sleeping accommodation and have privacy features like personal coupes.
2A	AC-Two tier: Air conditioned coaches with sleeping berths, ample leg room, curtains and individual reading lamps. Berths are usually arranged in two tiers in bays of six, four across the width of the coach then the gangway then two berths longways, with curtains provided to give some privacy from those walking up and down. Bedding is included with the fare. A broad gauge coach can carry 48 passengers.
FC	First class: Same as 1AC, without the air conditioning. This class is not very common.
3A	AC three tier: Air conditioned coaches with sleeping berths. Berths are usually arranged as in 2AC but with three tiers across the width and two longways as before giving eight bays of eight. They are slightly less well-appointed, usually no reading lights or curtained off gangways. Bedding is included with fare. It carries 64 passengers in broad gauge.
3E	AC three tier (Economy): Air conditioned coaches with sleeping berths, present in Garib Rath Trains. Berths are usually arranged as in 3AC but with three tiers across the width and three longways. They are slightly less well-appointed, usually no reading lights or curtained off gangways. Bedding is not included with fare.
CC	AC chair car: An air-conditioned seater coach with a total of five seats in a row used for day travel between cities.
EC	Executive class chair car: An air-conditioned seater coach with a total of four seats in a row used for day travel between cities.
SL	Sleeper class: The sleeper class is the most common coach, and usually ten or more coaches could be attached. These are regular sleeping coaches with three berths vertically stacked. In broad gauge, it carries 72 passengers per coach. Railways have modified certain Sleeper Coaches on popular trains to accommodate 81 passengers in place of regular 72 passengers. This was done in order to facilitate benefits like clear the Passenger rush and simultaneously earn more revenue. But this has got lukewarm response with criticism from the travellers and railways has decided to remove them.
2S	Seater class: same as AC Chair car, but with bench style seats and without the air-conditioning.
UR	Unreserved: The cheapest accommodation, the seats usually made up of pressed wood, but the cushioned seats have been rapidly replaced. Although entry into the compartment is guaranteed, a sitting seat is not guaranteed. Tickets issued are valid on any train on the same route if boarded within 24 hours of buying the ticket. These coaches are usually very crowded.

At the rear of the train is a special compartment known as the guard's cabin

Caboose

A caboose is a manned North American rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.-Function:The caboose provided the...

. It is fitted with a transceiver

Transceiver

A transceiver is a device comprising both a transmitter and a receiver which are combined and share common circuitry or a single housing. When no circuitry is common between transmit and receive functions, the device is a transmitter-receiver. The term originated in the early 1920s...

 and is where the guard usually gives the all clear signal before the train departs. A standard passenger rake generally has four general compartments, two at the front and two behind, of which one is exclusively for ladies. The exact number varies according to the demand and the route. A luggage compartment can also exist at the front or the back. In some trains a separate mail compartment is present. In long-distance trains a pantry car is usually included in the centre.

Train numbering

Effective 20 December 2010, the railways will deploy a 5 digit numbering system instead of the 4 digit system. The need is due to the fact that the Indian Railways runs 10,000 trains daily.
Only a prefix of the digit 1 will be added to the four-digit numbers of the existing trains to make the transition smoother.
The special trains run to clear festivals and holiday rush shall have the prefix of 0 (zero)

Notable trains and achievements

There are two UNESCO World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

s on IR – the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus and the Mountain railways of India

Mountain railways of India

The Mountain Railways of India refer to the five railway lines built in the mountains of India in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, during the British Raj, which are run even today by the Indian Railways...

. The latter is not contiguous, but actually consists of three separate railway lines located in different parts of India:

• The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
  Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
  The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, nicknamed the "Toy Train", is a narrow gauge railway from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling in West Bengal, run by the Indian Railways....
  
  , a narrow gauge railway in West Bengal.
• The Nilgiri Mountain Railway
  Nilgiri Mountain Railway
  The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a railway in Tamil Nadu, India, built by the British in 1908, and was initially operated by the Madras Railway Company. The railway still relies on its fleet of steam locomotives. NMR comes under the jurisdiction of the newly formed Salem Division...
  
  , a metre gauge
  Metre gauge
  Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...
  
   railway in the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu
• The Kalka-Shimla Railway
  Kalka-Shimla Railway
  The Kalka–Shimla Railway is a narrow gauge railway in North-West India travelling along a mostly mountainous route from Kalka to Shimla. It is known for breathtaking views of the hills and surrounding villages.- History :...
  
  , a narrow gauge railway in the Shivalik
  Shivalik
  Shivalik may refer to:* Shivalik class frigate* Siwalik Hills, a series of ranges of outer foothills of Himalaya crossing Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bhutan....
  
   mountains in Himachal Pradesh
  Himachal Pradesh
  Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
  
  . In 2003 the Kalka Shimla Railway was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records
  Guinness World Records
  Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
  
   for offering the steepest rise in altitude in the space of 96 kilometre.
• The Maharaja Railways (Gwalior Light Railway), a narrow gauge line of just 0.6m width from Gwalior to Sheopur
  Sheopur
  Sheopur is a city in Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Sheopur District. Sheopur is linked by rail to Gwalior. The town is traditionally famous for its wood carving...
  
   of 198 km. in length is world's longest narrow gauge railway line is in the UNESCO world heritage tentative list.
• The Neral-Matheran Railway, a narrow gauge railway connecting Matheran
  Matheran
  - Getting to Matheran :Matheran is located about 100 km from Mumbai, 120 km from Pune. and 320 km from Surat. It lies on the busy Mumbai-Pune rail link and the nearest train station is at Neral, approximately 11 km from Matheran. From Neral, one can either rent a taxi to the...
  
   is also a historic line.
• The Palace on Wheels
  Palace on Wheels
  The Palace on Wheels is a luxury tourist train. It was launched by the Indian Railways to promote tourism in Rajasthan, and has been highly popular since its launch....
  
  is a specially designed train, frequently hauled by a steam locomotive, for promoting tourism in Rajasthan. On the same lines, the Maharashtra government introduced the Deccan Odyssey
  Deccan Odyssey
  The Deccan Odyssey is a special luxury train modelled on the Palace on Wheels to boost tourism on the Konkan route of the Indian Railways...
  
  covering various tourist destinations in Maharashtra
  Maharashtra
  Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
  
   and Goa
  Goa
  Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
  
  , and was followed by the Government of Karnataka
  Government of Karnataka
  The Government of Karnataka is a democratically elected body with the Governor as the constitutional head. The Governor who is appointed for a period of five years appoints the Chief Minister and his council of ministers...
  
   which introduced the Golden Chariot train connecting popular tourist destinations in Karnataka
  Karnataka
  Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
  
   and Goa
  Goa
  Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
  
  . However, neither of them has been able to enjoy the popular success of the Palace on Wheels.

• The Samjhauta Express
  Samjhauta Express
  The Samjhauta Express commonly called the Friendship Express, is a twice-weekly train Tuesdays and Fridays that runs between Delhi and Attari in India and Lahore in Pakistan. The word samjhauta means "Understanding","accord" and "compromise" in both Hindi and Urdu.Until the reopening of the Thar...
  
  is a train that runs between India and Pakistan. However, hostilities between the two nations in 2001 saw the line being closed. It was reopened when the hostilities subsided in 2004. Another train connecting Khokhrapar
  Khokhrapar
  Khokhrapar or Khokhropar is a border town located in Sindh, Pakistan.It is also last railway station on the way to Rajasthan in India....
  
   (Pakistan) and Munabao
  Munabao
  Munabao is a village in the Barmer district in Rajasthan in India bordering Pakistan.- Transport :In February 2006, the two nations reopened the railway line, the Thar Express that used to connect Rajasthan in India with Sindh in Pakistan...
  
   (India) is the Thar Express
  Thar Express
  Thar Express is an international train that connects Karachi, Pakistan to Bhagat Ki Kothi, India. Six kilometres apart, Munabao and Khokhrapar are the two last railway stations of the India-Pakistan border. Jamrao, Mirpur Khas, Shadi Pali, Saeendad, Barmer, Pithoro, Dhoro Naro, and Chhore are some...
  
  that restarted operations on 18 February 2006; it was earlier closed down after the 1965 Indo-Pak war
  Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
  The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
  
  .

• The Lifeline Express
  Lifeline Express
  The Lifeline Express or Jeevan Rekha Express is a mobile hospital train run by the Impact India Foundation. It was developed in collaboration with the Indian Railways and Health Ministry and has been funded by Impact UK, international charitable sources, Indian corporate houses and individuals...
  
  is a special train popularly known as the "Hospital-on-Wheels" which provides healthcare to the rural areas. This train has a carriage that serves as an operating room, a second one which serves as a storeroom and an additional two that serve as a patient ward. The train travels around the country, staying at a location for about two months before moving elsewhere.

• Among the famous locomotives, the Fairy Queen
  Fairy Queen (locomotive)
  The Fairy Queen, built in 1855, is the world's oldest steam locomotive in regular operation today, plying between New Delhi to Alwar in India. The locomotive was certified by the Guinness Book of Records to be the oldest operational locomotive after the Rajasthan government invoked it in 2004 to...
  
  is the oldest operating locomotive in the world today, though it is operated only for specials between Delhi and Alwar. John Bull
  John Bull (locomotive)
  John Bull is a British-built railroad steam locomotive that operated in the United States. It was operated for the first time on September 15, 1831, and it became the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operated it in 1981...
  
  , a locomotive older than Fairy Queen, operated in 1981 commemorating its 150th anniversary. Kharagpur
  Kharagpur
  Kharagpur is an industrial city in India. It is located in the Midnapore West district of the state of West Bengal.Kharagpur was chosen as the location of the first campus of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology . The IITs are the premier technical education institutes in India and...
  
   railway station also has the distinction of being the world's longest railway platform at 1072 m (3,517.1 ft). The Ghum station along the Darjeeling Toy Train
  Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
  The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, nicknamed the "Toy Train", is a narrow gauge railway from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling in West Bengal, run by the Indian Railways....
  
   route is the second highest railway station in the world to be reached by a steam locomotive. The Mumbai–Pune Deccan Queen
  Deccan Queen
  The Deccan Queen डेक्कन क्वीन or Deccan Queen Express, , is an Indian passenger train that connects Mumbai with Pune. It is a daily means of transport for thousands of passengers travelling between the two cities...
  
   has the oldest running dining car in IR.

• The Vivek Express
  Vivek Express
  Viveka Express numbered 15906 is the longest running train in India, and 8th longest in the world...
  
  , between Dibrugarh
  Dibrugarh
  Dibrugarh is the headquarters of Dibrugarh district, Assam, India, and is the second largest city in Assam after Guwahati. It is situated on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, about north-east of Guwahati. It is the gateway to the three tea-producing districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, and Sibsagar...
  
   and Kanyakumari
  Kanyakumari
  Kanyakumari is a town in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is also sometimes referred to as Cape Comorin. Located at the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, it is the geographical end of the Indian mainland. The district in Tamil Nadu where the town is located is called Kanyakumari...
  
  , has the longest run in terms of distance and time on Indian Railways network. It covers 4286 km (2,663.2 mi) in about 82 hours and 30 minutes.

• The Himsagar Express
  Himsagar Express
  Himsagar Express is the second longest running train on the Indian Railways in terms of distance and time. It runs from Kanyakumari in India's southernmost state, Tamil Nadu to Jammu Tawi, in Jammu & Kashmir - the northernmost state of India...
  
  , between Kanyakumari and Jammu Tawi
  Jammu
  Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
  
  , has the second longest run in terms of distance and time on Indian Railways network. It covers 3715 km (2,308.4 mi) in about 69 hours and 30 minutes. The Bhopal Shatabdi
  Bhopal Shatabdi
  Bhopal Shatabdi Express is a train operated by the Northern Railway which runs between New Delhi, the main railway station of India's capital territory, New Delhi. and Bhopal Junction the main railway station of Bhopal City, the state capital of central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The train is...
  
   Express is the fastest train in India today having a maximum speed of 150 km/h (93.2 mph) on the Faridabad
  Faridabad
  Faridabad is a city in the south-east of Haryana state in northern India, in Faridabad district. It lies at 28º 25' 16" N Latitude and 77º 18' 28" E Longitude. The district shares its boundaries with the National Capital and Union Territory of Delhi to its north, Gurgaon district to the west and...
  
  –Agra
  Agra
  Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
  
   section. The fastest speed attained by any train is 184 km/h (114.3 mph) in 2000 during test runs.

• The third longest train in terms of distance on Indian Railways network is Dibrugarh
  Dibrugarh
  Dibrugarh is the headquarters of Dibrugarh district, Assam, India, and is the second largest city in Assam after Guwahati. It is situated on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, about north-east of Guwahati. It is the gateway to the three tea-producing districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, and Sibsagar...
  
   - Yeshvantapur
  Yeshvantapur Railway Station
  **Yeshvantapur, a residential locality of Bangalore city, located around 6 km from the city centre. It is one of the developing stations of Bangalore created for reducing the rush at Bangalore City Railway Station.- Location :...
  
   (Bangalore
  Bangalore
  Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
  
  ) Express covering 3352 km (2,082.8 mi) in about 68 hours and 15 minutes.

• Trivandrum Rajdhani is the longest non stop train in on Indian Railways network covering 528 kms in 6.5 hours.

• Howrah - Amritsar express has maximum number of halts (115 halts) on Indian Railways network .

• The Rajdhani Express
  Rajdhani Express
  Rajdhani Express is a passenger train service in India connecting New Delhi with other important destinations, especially state capitals. Rajdhani means "The Capital" in Hindi.- History :...
  
  and Shatabdi Express
  Shatabdi Express
  Shatabdi Express trains are a series of fast passenger trains operated by Indian Railways to connect Metro cities with other cities important for tourism, pilgrimage or business...
  
  are the superfast, fully air-conditioned trains that give the unique opportunity of experiencing Indian Railways at its best. In July 2009, a new non-stop train service called Duronto Express
  Duronto Express
  Duronto Express is a category of long distance trains on Indian Railways. The special feature of these trains is that they run non-stop from source to destination, barring technical halts. All Duronto Express trains can be easily recognized by the characteristic yellow-green livery of their...
  
   was announced by the railway minister Mamata Banerjee
  Mamata Banerjee
  Mamata Banerjee is the 11th and current chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal. She is the first woman to hold the office. Banerjee founded All India Trinamool Congress in 1997 and became chairperson, after separating from the Indian National Congress...
  
  .

Fares and ticketing

Fares on the Indian Railways across categories are among the cheapest in the world. In the past few years, despite a recessionary environment, the Indian Railways have not raised fares on any class of service. On the contrary, there has been a minor dip in fares in some categories.

Ticketing services are available at all major and minor railway stations across India. In 2003, Indian Railways launched online ticketing services through the IRCTC website. Apart from E-tickets, passengers can also book I-tickets that are basically regular printed tickets, except that they are booked online and delivered by post. In July 2011, Indian Railways introduced Virtual Reservation Message (VRM), which allows passengers to display a screen-shot of the e-ticket through laptops/palmtops/Mobile-phones, instead of a printed E-Ticket. According to comScore, the Indian Railways website was the top visited Indian travel site in April 2010, with 7.7 million visitors.

Tourism

IRCTC takes care of the tourism operations of the Indian Railways. The Indian Railways operates several luxury trains such as Palace on Wheels

Palace on Wheels

The Palace on Wheels is a luxury tourist train. It was launched by the Indian Railways to promote tourism in Rajasthan, and has been highly popular since its launch....

, Golden Chariot, Royal Orient Express and Deccan Odyssey

Deccan Odyssey

The Deccan Odyssey is a special luxury train modelled on the Palace on Wheels to boost tourism on the Konkan route of the Indian Railways...

,((Maharaja Express)); that cater mostly to foreign tourists. For domestic tourists too, there are several packages available that cover various important tourist and pilgrimage destinations across India.

Freight

IR carries a huge variety of goods ranging from mineral ores, fertilizers and petrochemicals, agricultural produce, iron & steel, multimodal traffic and others. Ports and major urban areas have their own dedicated freight lines and yards. Many important freight stops have dedicated platforms and independent lines.

Indian Railways makes 70% of its revenues and most of its profits from the freight sector, and uses these profits to cross-subsidise the loss-making passenger sector. However, competition from trucks which offer cheaper rates has seen a decrease in the proportion of freight traffic carried by rail in recent years. Since the 1980s, Indian Railways has switched from small consignments to larger bulk goods which has helped speed up its operations. Most of its freight earnings come from such rakes carrying bulk goods such as coal, cement, food grains and iron ore.

Indian Railways also transports vehicles over long distances. Trucks that carry goods to a particular location are hauled back by trains saving the trucking company on unnecessary fuel expenses. Refrigerated vans are also available in many areas. The "Green Van" is a special type used to transport fresh food and vegetables. Recently Indian Railways introduced the special 'Container Rajdhani' or CONRAJ, for high priority freight. The highest speed notched up for a freight train is 120 kilometres per hour (74.6 mph) for a 5,500 metric tonne load.

Recent changes have sought to boost the earnings from freight. A privatization scheme was introduced recently to improve the performance of freight trains. Companies are being allowed to run their own container trains. The first length of an 11000 kilometres (6,835.1 mi) freight corridor linking India's biggest cities has recently been approved. The railways has increased load limits for the system's 230,000 freight wagons by 11%, legalizing something that was already happening. Due to increase in manufacturing transport in India that was augmented by the increase in fuel cost, transportation by rail became advantageous financially. New measures such as speeding up the turnaround times have added some 24% to freight revenues.

Dedicated Freight Corridor

Under the Eleventh Five Year Plan

Five-Year Plans of India

The economy of India is based in part on planning through its five-year plans, which are developed, executed and monitored by the Planning Commission. The tenth plan completed its term in March 2007 and the eleventh plan is currently underway...

 of India(2007–2012), Ministry of Railways is constructing a new Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) covering about 2762 route km long two routes – the Eastern Corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni

Dankuni

Dankuni is a fast-growing industrial township near Kolkata, India. The town is part of the Hooghly District, in the state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority....

 and the Western Corridor from Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva

Nhava Sheva

Nhava Sheva, officially Jawaharlal Nehru Port, is the 6th largest port and the largest container port in India. Located in Maharashtra, the port on the Arabian Sea is accessed via Thane Creek.- History :...

, Navi Mumbai

Navi Mumbai

Navi Mumbai is a Planned Satellite City on the west coast of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was developed in 1972 as a twin city of Mumbai, and is the largest planned city on the planet, with under the jurisdiction of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation and a total area of . Navi Mumbai...

 to Tughlakabad/Dadri along with interlinking of two corridors at Dadri

Dadri

Dadri is a city and a municipal board in Gautam Buddha Nagar District in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.-Geography:Dadri is located at . It has an average elevation of 216 metres .It has world largest power project.-Demographics:...

. Upgrading of transportation technology, increase in productivity and reduction in unit transportation cost are the focus areas for the project. According to initial estimates, the project would cost .

A new company, "Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India

Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India

The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited is a corporation run by the Government of India to undertake planning & development, mobilisation of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the Dedicated Freight Corridors...

 Limited(DFCCIL)", designated as a `special purpose vehicle`, has been created to undertake planning & development, mobilization of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the Dedicated Freight Corridors. DFCCIL has been registered as a company under the Companies Act 1956 on 30 October 2006.

New rolling stock would be acquired to meet the demands of the corridor which are

1. 1000 electric locomotives of 12000 and 9000 hp

2. 1000 diesel locomotives of 4500 and 6000 hp

3. 2,00,000 freight wagons of high capacity and 32 ton axle load

Rail budget and finances

The Railway Budget deals with planned infrastructure expenditure on the railways as well as with the operating revenue and expenditure for the upcoming fiscal years, the public elements of which are usually the induction and improvement of existing trains and routes, planned investment in new and existing infrastructure elements, and the tariff for freight and passenger travel. The Parliament

Parliament of India

The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body in India. Founded in 1919, the Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all political bodies in India. The Parliament of India comprises the President and the two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha...

 discusses the policies and allocations proposed in the budget. The budget needs to be passed by a simple majority in the Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

 (Lower House). The comments of the Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...

 (Upper House) are non-binding. Indian Railways is subject to the same audit control as other government revenue and expenditures. Based on anticipated traffic and the projected tariff, requirement of resources for capital and revenue expenditure of railways is worked out. While the revenue expenditure is met entirely by railways itself, the shortfall in the capital (plan) expenditure is met partly from borrowings (raised by Indian Railway Finance Corporation) and the rest from Budgetary support from the Central Government. Indian Railways pays dividend to the Central Government for the capital invested by the Central Government.

As per the Separation Convention (on the recommendations of the Acworth Committee), 1924, the Railway Budget is presented to the Parliament by the Union Railway Minister, two days prior to the General Budget

Union budget of India

The Union Budget of India, referred to as the annual Financial Statement in Article 112 of the Constitution of India, is the annual budget of the Republic of India, presented each year on the last working day of February by the Finance Minister of India in Parliament...

, usually around 26 February. Though the Railway Budget is separately presented to the Parliament, the figures relating to the receipt and expenditure of the Railways are also shown in the General Budget, since they are a part and parcel of the total receipts and expenditure of the Government of India. This document serves as a balance sheet of operations of the Railways during the previous year and lists out plans for expansion for the current year.

The formation of policy and overall control of the railways is vested in Railway Board

Railway Board (India)

The Indian Railway Board is the apex body of the Indian Railways. It reports to the Parliament of India through the Minister of Railways .-Current members:It currently has the following members:*Chairman Railway Board: Vinay Mittal...

, comprising the Chairman, the Financial Commissioner and other functional members of Traffic, Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical and Staff departments.

Indian Railways, which a few years ago was operating at a loss, has, in recent years, been generating positive cash flows and been meeting its dividend obligations to the government, with (unaudited) operating profits going up substantially. The railway reported a cash surplus of in 2005, in 2006, in 2007 and for the 2007–2008 fiscal year. Its operating ratio improved to 76% while, in the last four years, its plan size increased from to . The proposed investment for the 2008–2009 fiscal year is , 21% more than for the previous fiscal year. Budget Estimates-2008 for Freight, Passenger, Sundry other Earnings and other Coaching Earnings have been kept at , , and respectively. Maintaining an overall double digit growth, Gross Traffic Earnings have been projected as 93,159 crore in 2009–10 (19.1 billion USD at current rate), exceeding the revised estimates for the current fiscal by . Around 20% of the passenger revenue is earned from the upper class segments of the passenger segment (the air-conditioned classes).

The Sixth Pay Commission was constituted by the Government of India in 2005 to review the pay structure of government employees, and submitted its recommendations in April 2008. Based on its recommendations, the salaries of all Railways officers and staff were to be revised with retrospective effect w.e.f. 1 January 2006, resulting in an expenditure of over in 2008–09 and in 2009–10. Consequently, staff costs have risen from 44% of ordinary working expenses to 52%.

Issues

Many railway stations are in a state of disrepair, especially when compared to stations in developed countries. Sometimes passengers are seen on trains hanging out windows and even on the roof creating safety problems. The interior of many train compartments are poorly maintained and dirty.
Although accidents such as derailment and collisions are less common in recent times, many are run over by trains, especially in crowded areas. Indian Railways have accepted the fact that given the size of operations, eliminating accidents is an unrealistic goal, and at best they can only minimize the accident rate. Human error is the primary cause, leading to 83% of all train accidents in India. While accident rates are low – 0.55 accidents per million train kilometre, the absolute number of people killed is high because of the large number of people making use of the network. While strengthening and modernisation of railway infrastructure is in progress, much of the network still uses old signalling and has antiquated bridges. Lack of funds is a major constraint for speedy modernisation of the network, which is further hampered by diversion of funds meant for infrastructure to lower-prioritised purposes due to political compulsions. In order to solve this problem, the Ministry of Railways in 2001 created a non-lapsible safety fund of exclusively for the renewal of overaged tracks, bridges, rolling stock and signalling gear. In 2003, the Ministry also prepared a Corporate Safety Plan for the next ten years with the objective of realising a vision of an accident-free and casualty-free railway system. The plan, with an outlay of , also envisaged development of appropriate technology for higher level of safety in train operation.

Reforms and upgrades

Outdated communication, safety and signaling equipment, which used to contribute to failures in the system, is being updated with the latest technology. A number of train accidents happened on account of a system of manual signals between stations, so automated signaling is getting a boost at considerable expense. It is felt that this would be required given the gradual increase in train speeds and lengths, that would tend to make accidents more dangerous. In the latest instances of signaling control by means of interlinked stations, failure-detection circuits are provided for each track circuit and signal circuit with notification to the signal control centres in case of problems. Though currently available only in a small subset of the overall IR system, anti-collision devices are to be extended to the entire system. Aging colonial-era bridges and century-old tracks also require regular maintenance and upgrading.

The fastest trains of Indian Railways, Rajdhani Express

Rajdhani Express

Rajdhani Express is a passenger train service in India connecting New Delhi with other important destinations, especially state capitals. Rajdhani means "The Capital" in Hindi.- History :...

 and Shatabadi Express face competition from low-cost airlines since they run at a maximum speed of only 150 kilometres per hour (93.2 mph). At least six corridors are under consideration for the introduction of high speed trains to India with expert assistance from France and Japan.

IR is in the process of upgrading stations, coaches, tracks, services, safety, and security, and streamlining its various software management systems including crew scheduling, freight, and passenger ticketing. Crew members will be able to log in using biometric scanners at kiosks while passengers can avail themselves of online booking. Initially, various upgrade and overhaul work will be performed at more than five hundred stations, some of it by private contract. All metre gauge lines in the country will be converted to broad gauge (see Project Unigauge

Project Unigauge

Project Unigauge is an ongoing exercise by Indian Railways to standardise most of the rail gauges in India at 1676 mm broad gauge....

). New LHB

Alstom

Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...

 stainless steel coaches, manufactured in India, have been installed in Rajdhani and Shatabdi express trains. These coaches enhance the safety and riding comfort of passengers besides having more carrying capacity, and in time will replace thousands of old model coaches throughout Indian Railways. More durable and conforming polyurethane paint is now being used to enhance the quality of rakes and significantly reduce the cost of repainting. Improved ventilation and illumination are part of the new scheme of things, along with the decision to install air brake systems on all coaches. New manufacturing units are being set up to produce state-of-the-art locomotives and coaches. IR is also expanding its telemedicine network facilities to further give its employees in far-flung and remote areas access to specialized medicine. IR has also piloted Internet connectivity on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express,. It is estimated that modernisation of IR and bringing it up to international standards would require US$280 billion in new upgrades and investment from 2010 to 2020.

Sanitation in trains and stations throughout the system is getting more attention with the introduction of eco-friendly, discharge-free, green (or bio-) toilets. Updated eco-friendly refrigerant is being used in AC systems while fire detection systems will be installed on trains in a phased manner. New rodent-control and cleanliness procedures are working their way into the many zones of IR. Central Railway's 'Operation Saturday' is gradually making progress, station by station, in the cleanup of its Mumbai division.

Augmentation of capacity has also been carried out in order to meet increasing demand. The number of coaches on each train have been increased to 24, from 16, which increased costs by 28% but increased revenues by 78%. The railways were permitted to carry 68 tons per wagon, up from the earlier limit of 54 tons per wagon, thereby cutting costs. The turnaround time for freight wagons was reduced from 7 days to 5 by operating the goods shed

Goods shed

A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train.A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built alongside a track with possibly just a canopy over the door...

 24X7, electrifying every feeder line

Feeder line

-Telecommunications:In communications, a feeder line is a peripheral route or branch from a main line or trunk line.-Electrical Engineering:...

 (this reduced time spent switching the engine from diesel to electric or from electric to diesel). Reducing the turnaround time meant that the Railways could now load 800 trains daily, instead of 550 trains daily. The minimum tonnage requirements were reduced allowing companies to unload their cargo at multiple stops.

On 19 October 2011, The Real Time Train Information System (RTIS) project, GPS-based SIMRAN technology, was introduced by railway minister

Ministry of Railways (India)

The Ministry of Railways in India is in charge of the Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport in India. Dinesh Trivedi is the current minister responsible for railways....

 Dinesh Trivedi

Dinesh Trivedi

Dinesh Trivedi is an Indian politician from All India Trinamool Congress is a Member of Parliament of the 15th Lok Sabha representing the Barrackpore , West Bengal. A graduate in commerce from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta and an M.B.A. from the The University of Texas at Austin...

. RTIS will enable rail travellers to access train running information real-time on their laptops and mobile phones

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

. It intends to provide passengers with latest information about train movement and other details

Passenger information system

A passenger information [display] system is an electronic information system which provides real-time passenger information. It may include both predictions about arrival and departure times, as well as information about the nature and causes of disruptions...

. The RTIS project has been jointly developed by IIT Kanpur

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur is a Central deemed University located in Uttar Pradesh, about 15 km north-west of the city of Kanpur in the Kalyanpur suburb....

 and Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO)

Research Design and Standards Organization

The Research Design and Standards Organization is a ISO 9001 research and development organization under the Ministry of Railways of India, which functions as a technical adviser and consultant to the Railway Board, the Zonal Railways, the Railway Production Units, RITES and IRCON International in...

, with support from the HRD ministry

Ministry of Human Resource Development (India)

The Ministry of Human Resource Development is an Indian government ministry, responsible for the development of human resources...

.

Initially, RTIS will provide information only on Rajdhani

Rajdhani Express

Rajdhani Express is a passenger train service in India connecting New Delhi with other important destinations, especially state capitals. Rajdhani means "The Capital" in Hindi.- History :...

 and Shatabdi

Shatabdi Express

Shatabdi Express trains are a series of fast passenger trains operated by Indian Railways to connect Metro cities with other cities important for tourism, pilgrimage or business...

 trains, their speed, delays, approaching station, coach position and other details. Presently Indian Railways starts RTIS in five pair of Rajdhani Express (12301/02,12305/06,12313/13,12951/52 and 12953/54) and one pair of Shatabdi Express (12303/04) on Pilot basis. Passengers can obtain train information by visiting http://www.simran.in, SMS

SMS

SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...

 by sending the train number to the mobile number 09415139139.

Railways had earlier decided to implement RTIS to track all passenger and freight trains. The work was approved in Railway Budget 2011 at a cost of 110 crore. The project is likely to be completed by December 2012.

See also

• List of countries by rail transport network size
• List of railway stations in India
• Rail transport in India
  Rail transport in India
  Rail transport is a commonly used mode of long-distance transportation in India. Almost all rail operations in India are handled by a state-owned organisation, Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways. The rail network traverses the length and breadth of the country, covering a total length of...
  
  

Scholarly studies

• Aguiar, Marian. Tracking Modernity: India's Railway and the Culture of Mobility (2011)
• Bear, Laura. Lines of the Nation: Indian Railway Workers, Bureaucracy, and the Intimate Historical Self (Columbia University Press, 2007); 360 pp. ISBN 978-0-231-14002-7.
• Tiwari, Ramswarup D. Railways In Modern India (1941) excerpt and text search

External links

• Survey of India, (2004) Railway Map of India
• Indian Railways Official Website
• Indian Railways Train Running Information
• Indian Railways Online Reservation
• Passenger Reservation Enquiry
• IRCTC PNR Status

• Revised SOD 2004 of Indian Railways http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/directorate/civil_engg/pdf/Revised%20SOD%202004.pdf
• Errata of Revised SOD 2004 of Indian Railways http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/directorate/civil_engg/pdf/ACS/ACS-3_06.pdf