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Indian Railways are the largest rail networks in Asia and the world's second largest under one management. Railways traverse through the length and breadth of the country covering 63,140 route kms as on 31.3.2002, comprising broad gauge (45,099
kms), meter gauge (14,776 kms) and narrow gauge (3,265 kms). As the principal constituent of the nation's transport system, Indian Railways own a fleet of 2,16,717 wagons (units), 39,236 coaches and 7,739 number of locomotives and manage to run 14,444 trains daily, including about 8,702 passenger trains. They carry more than a million tonne of freight traffic and about 14 million passengers covering 6,856 number of stations daily. |
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Management
The apex management organisation is the Railway Board, also called
the Ministry of Railways. The board is headed by a Chairman who
reports to the Minister of Railways. At present Railways Minister is
Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav , Minister of State for Railways is Mr.
R. Velu, Minister of State for Railways Mr.Naranbhai J Rathwa and Chairman Railway
Board is Mr. J. P. Batra. The board has five other members in
addition to the chairman. The General Managers of the zonal railways
and the production units report to the board.
The Functional branches of Indian Railways are:
Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)
Indian Railway Medical Service ( IRMS)
Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)
Indian Railway Service of (Civil) Engineers (IRSE)
Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE)
Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME)
Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS)
Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE)
Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)
Railway Protection Force (RPF) |
Railways Minister
Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav |
Railway zones
For administrative purposes, Indian Railways is
divided into sixteen zones.
No Name
Abbr.
Headquarters
1. Northern Railway
NR
Delhi
2. North Eastern Railway
NER
Gorakhpur
3. Northeast Frontier Railway
NFR
Maligaon(Guwahati)
4 .Eastern Railway
ER
Kolkata
5. South Eastern Railway
SER
Kolkata
6. South Central Railway
SCR
Secunderabad
7. Southern Railway
SR
Chennai
8. Central Railway
CR
Mumbai
9. Western Railway
WR
Mumbai
10. South Western Railway
SWR
Hubli
11. North Western Railway
NWR
Jaipur
12. West Central Railwa
WCR
Jabalpur
13. North Central Railway
NCR
Allahabad
14. South East Central Railway
SECR
Bilaspur, CG
15. East Coast Railway
ECoR
Bhubaneswar
16. East Central Railway
ECR
Hajipur
17. Konkan Railway
†KR
Navi Mumbai
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History
The first train in India became operational
on 1851-12-22, and was used for the hauling of construction material in
Roorkee. A year and a half later, on 1853-04-16, the first passenger train service was
inaugurated between Bori Bunder, Bombay and Thana. Covering a distance of 34 km
(21 miles), it was hauled by three locomotives, Sahib, Sindh and Sultan. This
was the formal birth of railways in India. By 1895, India had started building its own locomotives, and in
1896 sent engineers and locomotives to help build the Uganda Railway.
By 1985, steam locomotives were phased out in favour of diesel and electric locomotives. The entire railway
reservation system was streamlined with computerisation in 1995.
Passenger services
Indian Railways operates 8,702 passenger trains and
transports around five billion annually across twenty-six states and three union
territories. A standard passenger train consists of eighteen coaches, but some popular trains
can have up to 24 coaches. Coaches are designed to accommodate anywhere from 18
to 72 passengers. Each coach has different accommodation class
as:
First class Air-conditioned (AC) (Code: 1A)
The Executive class in Shatabdi type trains is also treated as 1 AC
AC 2-tier sleeper (Code: 2A)
First class (Code: FC)
AC 3 Tier (Code: 3A)
AC chair Car (Code: CC)
Sleeper Class (Code: SL)
Second Sitting (Code: 2S)
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Stamp issued on three locomotives, Sahib, Sindh and
Sultan |
Trains:
Several types of trains are running in different routes
as:
Suburban rail
Super fast trains
Mail Trains
Passenger trains
Local trains
Special trains
Hill Railways
Metro Railways |
Delhi Metro Rail |
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RAJDHANI EXPRESS: India's super fast, fully air conditioned, deluxe trains give you the unique opportunity of experiencing Indian Railways at its best.
SHATABDI EXPRESS: are the super fast, Inter-city trains that link major cities and offer facilities for quick and comfortable travel.
HILL RAILWAYS:
See more details...
Tourist Trains:
Palace On Wheels: This is a tourist train operated by IR. It covers the route Delhi -
Jaipur - Chittorgarh/Udaipur - Sawai Madhopur - Jaisalmer - Jodhpur -
Bharatpur/ Agra - Delhi, including visits to historical sites, palaces, wildlife
sanctuaries, etc. along the way, taking about 8 days in all.
The Kangra Queen: The Kangra Queen is a tourist train that goes through the scenic Kangra Valley
route, from Pathankot to Palampur in Himachal Pradesh. It covers 128km in 4.5
hours (one train each way everyday).
The Desert Queen: The Desert Queen is a tourist train announced in August 2000, which is supposed
to cover the Nawalgarh - Fatehpur - Pidawa - Mukungarh - Shekhawat route in
Rajasthan, in 3 days and 3 nights.
The Great Indian Rover: The Great Indian Rover was a tourist train introduced on Feb. 10, 1983, and
aimed at tourists who wished to visit places of Buddhist interest. It had
various itineraries of 3 to 7 days from Kolkata, including stops at Gorakhpur
(for Lumbini), Gaya, Patna, Sarnath, etc., and going to Puri, Varanasi, and
ending at New Delhi.
Samjhauta Express: The Samjhauta Express is a bi-weekly train that runs between India and Pakistan,
the only rail connection between the two countries.
The Samjhauta Express is a bi-weekly train that runs between India and Pakistan,
the only rail connection between the two countries.
The Lifeline Express is a special train popularly known as the
"Hospital-on-Wheels"
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Indian
Railways Travel Rules
Extracts from The Indian Railways Act - of Importance and Interest to a
Passenger
Every person desirous of travelling on a Railway shall, upon payment of his fare be supplied with a ticket specifying the class of carriage for which, and the place from and the place to which, the fare has been paid. A person to whom a ticket has been issued and for whom there is not room available in the train for which the ticket was issued shall, on returning the ticket within three hours after the departure of the train, entitled to have his fare refunded.
A person for whom there is not room available in the class of carriage for which he has purchased a ticket and who is obliged to travel in a carriage of a lower class shall be entitled on delivering up his ticket to a refund of the difference between the fare paid by him and the fare payable for the class of carriage in which he
travelled.
No person, shall without the permission of Railway Servant, enter (or remain in) any carriage on a Railway for the purpose of travelling therein as a passenger unless he has with him a proper, pass or ticket.
If a passenger resists the lawful entry of another passenger into a compartment not reserved by the Railway administration for the use of the passenger resisting or not already containing the maximum number of passenger exhibited therein or thereon, he shall be punished with the fine according to
existing rules of the Railway.
If a person without consent of his fellow passengers, if any in the same compartment, smokes in any compartment except a compartment specially provided for the purpose, he shall be punished with fine according to the existing rules of the Railways.
If a person suffering from an infectious or contagious disorder enters or travels upon a Railway, he and any person having charge of him upon the Railway when he so entered or travelled thereon, shalt be punished with fine according to existing rules of the Railways, in addition to the forfeiture of
any fare which either of them may have paid, and of any pass or ticket which either of them may have obtained or purchased, and may be removed from the Railway by any Railway servant.
If a male person, knowing a carriage, compartment, room or other place to be reserved by a Railway administration for the exclusive use of females, enters the place without lawful excuse, or having entered it remains therein after having been desired by any Railway Servant to leave it, he shall be punished
with fine according to existing rules of the Railways.
If a person in any Railway carriage or upon any part of a Railway is in a state of intoxication, or
commits any nuisance or act of indecency, or uses obscene or abusive language, or wilfully and without lawful excuse interferes with the comfort of any passenger or extinguishes any lamp, he shall be punished.
If a person willfully obstructs or impedes any Railway servant in the discharge of his duty, he shall be punished with fine according to existing rules of the Railway.
If a person unlawfully enters upon a railway, he shall be punished with fine according to existing rules of the Railways.
If a person upon entering refuses to leave the Railway on being requested to do so by any Railway servant or by any other person on behalf of the Railway Administration, he shall be punished with fine according to existing rules of the
Railways.
If a passenger travels in a train without having a proper pass or a proper ticket with him, or being in or having alighted from a train, or refuses to present for examination or so deliver up his pass or ticket immediately on requisition being made therefor he shall be liable to pay, on the demand of any Railway servant appointed by the Railway Administration in this behalf, the excess charge hereinafter in this section mentioned.
If a passenger travels or attempts to travel in or on a carriage, or by a train, of a higher class than that for which he has obtained a pass or purchased a ticket, or travels in or on a carriage beyond the place authorised by his pass or ticket, he shall be liable to pay, on the demand of any Railway servant appointed by the Railway Administration in this behalf, the excess charge hereinafter in this section mentioned, in addition to any difference between any fare paid by him and the fare payable in respect of such journey as he has made.
Any person who, without having obtained the permission of a Railway servant, travels or attempts to travel in a carriage without having a proper pass or ticket with him; or in a carriage of a higher class than that for which he has obtained a pass or purchased a ticket, or in a carriage beyond the place
authorised by his pass or ticket or being in a carriage fails or refuses to present for examination or to deliver up his pass or tickets immediately on requisition may be removed from the carriage by any Railway servant authorised by the Railway Administration.
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Facts about Indian Railways:
The first train on Indian soil ran between Bombay and Thane on the 16th of April 1853
IR has about 63,028 route kms. of track
IR employs about 1.55 million people
It carries over 13 million passengers & 1.3 million tones of freight everyday.
It runs about 14,300 trains daily
IR has about 7,000 railway stations
The longest journey on the IR is from Jammu Tawi (North) to Kanya
Kumari (South), a distance of about 4,751 kms. covered by Himsagar Express in about 66 hours
The longest platform in the world is at Khragpur and is 2,733 ft. in length.
Nehru Setu on river SONE is the longest Railway bridge
The longest tunnel is KARBUDE on Konkan Railways, which is 6.5 kms in length.
India’s first railway bridge is the Dapoorie Viaduct” on the
Mumbai-Thane route.
India’s first Rail Tunnel is Parsik Tunnel.
India’s first ghats covered by the Rail lines are Thal & Bhore ghats
Kalkata Metro was the first underground railway system in India
Computerized Railway Reservation system started at Delhi in 1986
IR's first electric train ran on 3rd Feb 1925 between Bombay VT and
Kurla.
Toilets on trains were introduced in 1891 in 1st class and in 1907 in lower classes
42 Railway companies operated in the country before independence
FAIRY QUEEN (1855) is the oldest locomotive in working order
The manufacture of steam locomotives in the country stopped in 1972
Diesel Locomotives are manufactured at Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi
Electric Locomotives are manufactured at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Chittaranjan
Coaches are manufactured at ICF/Chennai, RCF/Kapurthala and BEML/Bangalore
IR's fastest train is the Bhopal Shatabdi Exp., which runs at speed upto 140 Kmph
IR's only Rack & Pinion system type of line is from Mettupalayam to
Conoor.
The national Rail Museum at New Delhi was set-up in 1977
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