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Indian Railways

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This article is about the government agency. For general information on railways in India, see Rail transport in India.

Indian Railways is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India that operates India's national railway system. As of 2023, it manages the fourth largest national railway system by size with a track length of 132,310 km (82,210 mi), running track length of 106,493 km (66,172 mi) and route length of 68,584 km (42,616 mi). As of August 2024, 96.59% of the broad-gauge network is electrified. With more than 1.2 million employees, it is the world's ninth-largest employer and India's second largest employer.

Indian Railways
Native name
Indian Railways
Company typeStatutory Body
State-owned enterprise
IndustryRail transport
Founded12 September 1837 (187 years ago) (1837-09-12)
HeadquartersRail Bhawan,
New Delhi
,
India
Area served
India
Key people
ServicesPassenger railway
Rail freight transport
Parcel carrier
Catering
Tourism
Parking lot operations
Other related services
RevenueIncrease ₹256,000 crore (US$31 billion)[2] (2023-24)
~Increase ₹4,761 crore (US$570 million)[2] (2023-24)
OwnerMinistry of Railways, Government of India (100%)
Number of employees
1,212,882[3] With 29,719 km (18,467 mi) of the lines having two or more tracks, total running track length was 106,493 km (66,172 mi), while total trackage (including sidings) was 132,310 km (82,210 mi).[3] (31 March 2023)
Divisions
Subsidiaries
List
Technical
Line length68,584[3] km (42,616 mi)
Track length132,310[3] km (82,210 mi)
Track gauge1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in)
762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
610 mm (2 ft)
Electrification64,080 km (39,820 mi)[4]

In 1951, the Indian Railways was established by the amalgamation of 42 different railway companies operating in the country, spanning a total of 55,000 km (34,000 mi). The railway network across the country was reorganized into six regional zones in 1951–52 for administrative purposes, which was gradually expanded to 18 zones over the years.

The first steam operated railway operated in 1837 in Madras with the first passenger operating in 1853 between Bombay and Thane. In 1925, the first electric train ran in Bombay on DC traction. The first locomotive manufacturing unit was commissioned in 1950 at Chittaranjan with the first coach manufacturing unit set-up at Madras in 1955.

Indian Railways runs various classes of express, passengers and suburban trains. In 2018–19, it operated 13,523 trains on average daily covering 7,325 stations and carried 8.44 billion passengers. Indian Railways also operates different classes of rail freight transport. In 2022–23, it operated 8,479 trains on average daily and transported 1418.1 million tonnes of freight. Indian Railways operates multiple classes of rolling stock, manufactured by self-owned coach-production facilities. As of March 2023, Indian Railways' rolling stock consisted of 318,196 freight wagons and 84,863 passenger coaches. As of December 2023, Indian Railways had 10,238 electric and 4,543 diesel locomotives amongst others.

History

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Main article: Rail transport in India § History

1832–1899

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In 1832 the proposal to construct the first railway line in India at Madras was made.[5][6] In 1835, a railway track was constructed between Red Hills and Chintadripet in Madras and became operational in 1837. It was hauled by a rotary steam engine imported from England and was used for ferrying granite.[7]

 
The railway viaduct near Thane in 1855
 
Railway map of India in 1871

The Madras Railway was established in 1845 and the Great Indian Peninsular Railway was incorporated in 1849.[6] Temporary railway lines were built such as the railway line at Dowleswaram built at by Arthur Cotton to supply stone for the construction of a dam over the Godavari River in 1845 and the Solani aqueduct railway, built by Proby Cautley in Roorkee to transport construction materials for an aqueduct over the Solani river in 1851.[6] In 1852, a steam locomotive imported from England was tried at Byculla.[8] In 1853, the first passenger train on 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge ran for 34 kilometres (21 mi) between Bombay and Thane which had 14-carriages carrying 400 people, hauled by three steam locomotives: the Sahib, Sindh and Sultan.[9][10]

The Thane viaducts, the first railway bridges, were built over the Thane creek when the Mumbai-Thane line was extended to Kalyan in May 1854. Eastern India's first passenger train ran 39 km (24 mi) from Howrah, near Kolkata, to Hoogly on 15 August 1854.[6] The construction on the first main line in the South between Royapuram in Madras and Arcot started in 1853, which became operational on 1 July 1856.[11] On 24 February 1873, a horse-drawn 3.8 km (2.4 mi) tram opened in Calcutta between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat street.[12] On 9 May 1874, a horse-drawn tramway began operation in Bombay between Colaba and Parel.[13] In 1879, the Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway was established which built railway lines across the then Hyderabad State from Kachiguda.[14] In 1877, an Ajmer built F-1/734 Steam Locomotive became the first indigenously built locomotive in India.[15] In 1897, lighting in passenger coaches was introduced with Jodhpur Railway, the first to introduce electric lighting as standard fixtures.[6]

1900–1999

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Railway map of India in 1909

The first railway budget was presented in 1924.[6] On 3 February 1925, the first electric train ran between Bombay and Kurla, hauled by a SLM electric locomotive on DC traction.[16] In 1925, the first Electric Multiple Units (EMU) were introduced in Bombay with 1500 V DC units imported were from Cammell Laird and Uerdingenwagonfabrik.[17] Chennai suburban railway started operating in 1931 with a single metre gauge line from Chennai Beach to Tambaram.[18] In the period between 1925 and 1944, the management of the railway companies in the British presidencies and provinces were taken over by the Government.[19]

In 1950, there were about 42 different railway companies operating about 55,000 km (34,000 mi) tracks across the country.[20][21] These railway companies were amalgamated in steps to form a single entity named as Indian Railways.[22] In December 1950, the Central Advisory Committee for Railways approved the plan for re-organizing Indian Railways into six regional zones with the Southern (14 April 1951), Central (5 November 1951), and Western (5 November 1951) zones being the first to be created.[21][23][19] In 1952, fans and lights were mandated for all compartments in passenger trains and sleeping accommodations were introduced in coaches.[6] The first diesel locomotive used in India was fabricated by North British Locomotive Company in 1954.[24]

 
A typical red-colored ICF coach used by the Indian Railways till the late 1990s

The first locomotive manufacturing unit at Chittaranjan was commissioned in 1950.[25] The first rail coaches were manufactured in India from 1956 when the Integral Coach Factory was established at Madras.[26] In 1956, the first air-conditioned train plied between Howrah and New Delhi.[27] In 1957, Indian Railways adopted 25 kV AC traction with the first runs beginning in December 1959 with the WAM-1 locomotives.[17] The first containerized freight rail transport began between Bombay and Ahmedabad in 1966.[6] In 1969, the Government of India announced the introduction of a new express train capable of reaching speeds of up to 120 km/h (75 mph) in the railway budget and the first Rajdhani Express was flagged off from New Delhi to Howrah in March 1969.[28][29] In 1974, Indian Railways endured a 20-day strike.[30][31] The first metro rail was introduced in Calcutta on 24 October 1984.[32]

In 1986, computerized ticketing and reservations were introduced.[33] In 1988, the first Shatabdi Express was introduced between New Delhi and Jhansi.[6] Two years later, the first self-printing ticket machine (SPTM) was introduced in Delhi.[34] In 1993, air-conditioned three-tier and sleeper were introduced.[6] In 1995, Chennai MRTS became the first operational elevated railway line in India.[18] Centralized computer reservation system was deployed in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai in September 1996, coupon validating machines (CVMs) were introduced at Mumbai CSMT in 1998 and the nationwide concierge system began operation on 18 April 1999.[6]

2000–present

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The Indian Railways website went online in February 2000. Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) was incorporated in 1999 and online ticketing was introduced on 3 August 2002 through IRCTC.[35] In 2015, the first Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered trains were rolled out.[36] Since 1925, the Railway budget was presented before the Union budget till 2016. The central government approved the merger of the Rail and General budgets from 2017.[37] On 31 March 2017, Indian Railways announced a target of electrifying the entire rail network would be electrified by 2023.[38] In March 2020, Indian Railways announced a nationwide shutdown of passenger service to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in India with the freight operations continuing to transport essential goods.[39][40][41] The railways resumed passenger services in a phased manner in May 2020.[42]

 
Introduced in 2019, Vande Bharat Express operating on a train-set built by ICF, is the fastest train in India

Starting in the 2010s, various infrastructure modernization projects have been undertaken including high-speed rail,[43][44] redevelopment of 400 stations,[45] doubling tracks to reduce congestion,[46] refurbishing of coaches,[47][48] Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled tracking of trains[49] and modernization of locomotives.[50][51] In 2018, a semi-high speed self-propelled train-set capable of reaching speeds of over 160 km/h (99 mph) was rolled out from ICF and the Vande Bharat Express was launched in 2019.[52][53] Indian Railways announced plans to become a net-zero carbon emission railway by 2030 and has implemented rainwater harvesting at stations,[54] reforestation along the tracks,[55] introduction of solar-powered trains,[56] installation of solar and wind power generation facilities,[57] and sustainable LED lighting at all the stations.[58] Indian railways removed all unstaffed level crossings by 2019 with staffed level crossings being replaced by bridges.[59] Other safety projects include the extension of an automated fire alarm system to all air-conditioned coaches and GPS-enabled Fog Pilot Assistance System railway signalling devices.[60] In 2020, Indian Railways allowed the operation of private passenger trains for the first time with the first train flagged off from Coimbatore in June 2022.[61][62]

Organisation

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Main article: Indian Railways organisational structure

Structure

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Main article: Zones and divisions of Indian Railways

Indian Railways is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India.[63] It is headed by a four-member Railway Board whose chairman reports to the Ministry of Railways and act on behalf of the ministry.[64] The organisation is divided into separate verticals traction, engineering, traffic, rolling stock, signalling, materials, personnel, RPF, finance, health and safety.[65]

Indian Railways is divided into 18 administrative zones (17 operational), headed by general managers which are further subdivided into 71 operating divisions, headed by divisional railway managers (DRM).[65] The divisional officers of the respective operating verticals report to the DRMs and divisional heads and are tasked with the operation and maintenance of assets. Station masters control individual stations and train movements through their stations' territory.[3] In addition, there are a number of manufacturing units, training establishments, PSUs and other undertakings under the purview of the Indian Railways.[65]

Human resources

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See also: Indian Railways Management Service and Railway Recruitment Control Board

Staff are classified into gazetted (Groups A and B) and non-gazetted (Groups C and D) employees with gazetted employees carrying out executive/managerial level tasks.[66] As of March 2023, Groups A & B constitute 1.5% of the total workforce, while Group C & D account for 98.5%.[3] 80% of Group-A employees are recruited through Indian Railways Management Service with remaining through promotions.[67]

Group B employees are recruited by departmental promotional exams of Group C employees. Recruitment of Group C employees are through exams conducted by the Railway Recruitment Control Board (RRCB) and Group D staffs are recruited by zonal Railway Recruitment Cells (RRC).[68] Indian Railways operates seven centralized training institutes and 295 training centers. It also provides housing, healthcare and education facilities for staff.[3]

Subsidiaries

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Indian Railways has various public sector undertakings (PSUs) and other organisations under its purview:[3]

Name Sector Established Notes
Bhartiya Rail Bijlee Company (BRBCL) Power 2007 Joint Venture with NTPC; 26% ownership
Braithwaite & Co. Heavy industry 1913 Transferred from Ministry of Heavy Industries in 2010
Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) Information technology 1986
Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) Intermodal freight transport 1988
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) Rail freight infrastructure development 2006
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Catering, Ticketing and Tourism 1999 67% ownership
Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) Financial services 1986
Ircon International Rail infrastructure development 1976
Konkan Railway Corporation (KRCL) Rail infrastructure construction and operation 1990
Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) Suburban rail operation & development 1999 51% ownership
National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC) High-speed rail construction & operation 2016
Pipavav Railway Corporation Operation of Pipavav port line 2000 Joint venture with Pipavav Port; 50% ownership
Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) Consulting 1974
Rail Vikas Nigam (RVN) Rail Infrastructure development 2003
RailTel Telecommunications 2000

Indian Railways also has multiple bodies and undertakings under its purview such as:[3]

Infrastructure and operations

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Rolling stock

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Locomotives
 
Close-up of a locomotive with the classification and number; WDM3A indicates a Broad gauge (W), Diesel (D), Mixed use (M), 3100 HP (3A) locomotive
Main article: Locomotives of India

The first trains in the 1800s were hauled by imported steam locomotives.[6] In 1877, the first locomotive was built in India.[8] Electric locomotives were introduced in 1925 and diesel locomotives later in 1954.[24][16] By 1990s, steam locomotives were phased out and are currently operated only on mountrain railways and on heritage trains. Locomotives are classified by track gauge (broad/metre/narrow/narrower), motive power (electric/diesel/battery), function (passenger/goods/mixed), power rating (x1000 HP) and model in a four or five letter code.[69] The locomotives may be Longer Hood Front (LHF), where the driver cabin is behind the hood of the engine or Short Hood Front (SHF), where the cabin is located towards the front.[69] Multiple units (MU) are propelled by locomotives integrated with train-sets. In 2015, the first Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered MUs were rolled out by ICF.[36] In 2018, the semi-high speed self-propelled Vande Bharat train-set was rolled out from ICF.[52] Locomotives are manufactured by five owned manufacturing units of the Indian Railways and BHEL.[70] As of 2021, 37% of the trains are operated by diesel locomotives and rest mostly by electric locomotives.[71] As of December 2023, Indian Railways had 10,238 electric and 4,543 diesel locomotives amongst others.[72][73]

Passenger coaches
Main article: Indian Railways coaching stock
 
ICF coach
 
LHB coach

The early rail coaches were based on a prototype by a Swiss company and were termed as ICF coaches after Integral coach factory (ICF), the first coach manufacturing unit in India.[26] These coaches, manufactured from 1955 to 2018, were largely in use till the early 2010s.[74] From the late 1990s, the ICF coaches were replaced by safer and newer LHB coaches designed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany.[75][76] In the late 2010s, Indian railways started upgrading the coaches of select trains from LHB to new Tejas coaches with enhanced features.[77][78] As of March 2023, Indian Railways' had 84,863 passenger coaches.[3] Coaches are manufactured by five manufacturing units of the Indian Railways and public sector companies BEML and BHEL.[70] The coaching stock have unique five or six digit identifiers. Till 2018, the first two digits indicating the year of manufacture and the last three digits indicating the class.[79] In 2018, the numbering system was changed with the first two digits indicating the year of manufacture and the last four digits indicating the sequence number.[80]

Multiple units

In the 1960s, Electric multiple units (EMU) were developed for short-haul and suburban rail transit.[81][82] On regional short-distance routes, Mainline electrical multiple unit (MEMU) and Diesel electrical multiple unit (DEMU) trains are run. These train sets run in formation of 6, 9, 12 or 15 coaches and a three-car set is typified by a motor coaches and two passenger coaches.[83][84] These train-sets are self-propelled with capability for faster acceleration or deceleration.[85] In 2018, Indian Railways also rolled out semi-high speed self-propelled train sets with modified coaches for inter city trains.[52]

Goods wagons
 
 
A covered wagon (left) and tanker

Indian Railways hauls variety of cargo to cater to various requirements and have specialized rolling stock corresponding to the cargo hauled. There are 243 types of rolling stock used for cargo operations.[86] These include covered wagons, boxcars, flat wagons, flatbeds, open wagons, hoppers, containers, automobile carriers, defense vehicle carriers and tankers.[87] The freight cars can often carry loads from 10 to 80 tonnes per car depending on the configuration.[87] A new wagon numbering system was adopted in Indian Railways in 2003.[88] The requirement of wagons was previously met by Bharat wagon and engineering with the procurement and manufacturing now done by both in public and private sector.[3]

Others

Apart from standard passenger classes, the Indian Railways has other specialized coach types used for dedicated functions.[89] These include accident relief medical vans,[90][91] brake vans,[92][93] generator cars,[94] inspection carriages,[95] military cars,[90] pantry car[96] and parcel vans.[97] These may be dedicated self-propelled units or attached to train-sets.[98][99]

Manufacturing

Indian Railways operates various manufacturing units. Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), commissioned in 1950, was the first locomotive manufacturing unit in India.[25] The first rail coache manufacturing unit, the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) was established at Madras in 1956.[26] Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), commissioned in 1961, is the second locomotive manufacturing unit operated by Indian Railways.[100] BHEL, Patiala Locomotive Works, Diesel Locomotive Factory, Marhowrah and Electric Locomotive Factory, Madhepura also manufacture locomotives in India.[70] Railway coaches are also manufactured at coach factories at Karputhala, Raebareli, Sonipat and Latur.[70] Indian Railways also operates three rail wheel manufacturing factories at Bangalore, Chhpra and Raebareli.[70][101]

Maintenance

The locomotives are operated and maintained by 44 locomotive sheds.[73][72] The repair and maintenance of the fleet of other rolling stock is carried out at 212 carriage & wagon repair units and 45 periodic overhaul workshops across various zones of IR.[3]

Tracks

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Comparison of gauges in India with the standard gauge
See also: Project Unigauge

As of 31 March 2023, Indian railway network spanned 68,584 km (42,616 mi) in route length. With 29,719 km (18,467 mi) of the lines having two or more tracks, total running track length was 106,493 km (66,172 mi), while total trackage (including sidings) was 132,310 km (82,210 mi).[3]

Track sections are rated for speeds ranging from 80 to 200 km/h (50 to 124 mph), though the maximum speed attained by passenger trains is 160 km/h (99 mph). The network was built with a variety of gauges, including 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge, 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge metre gauge and 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) and 610 mm (2 ft) narrow gauge; but a long-term effort, Project Unigauge, aims to convert most of these to broad gauge. As of 31 March 2023, 65,978 km (40,997 mi) or 96.20% of the network was broad-gauge, 1,345 km (836 mi) or 1.96% metre-gauge and 1,262 km (784 mi) or 1.84% narrow-gauge.[3] The broad-gauge network is equipped with long-welded, high-tensile 52kg/60kg 90 UTS rails with pre-stressed concrete (PSC) sleepers and elastic fastenings.[3]

Trunk routes

As of July 2020, there are seven major routes a total length of 11,295 km (7,018 mi) which have been classified as High-Density Network (HDN) routes or Trunk routes. There is 60% traffic on these routes, which are designed for speed limit of 160 km/h. These Trunk route include Chennai–Howrah, Chennai–Mumbai, Delhi–Chennai, Delhi–Howrah, Howrah–Mumbai, Mumbai–Delhi and Delhi–Guwahati.[102][103]

Electrification
Main article: Central Organisation for Railway Electrification

The first electric train ran in Bombay in 1925 on DC traction.[16] In 1928, DC traction was introduced on the suburban of Bombay by the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway between Colaba and Borivili and between Madras beach and Tambaram by the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway in 1931.[104] In 1957, Indian Railways decided to adopt 25 kV AC as its standard.[16] The first 25 kV AC EMUs operated in Calcutta in 1962 and Madras in 1968. In 2017, Indian Railways announced a plan to electrify the country's entire broad gauge rail network by 2023.[105] Post electrification, 30 billion kWh of electricity will be required on an annual basis for Indian Railways.[105] As of 1 August 2024, Indian Railways has electrified 64,080 km (39,820 mi) or 96.59% of the total broad-gauge route length.[4] Indian Railway uses 25 kV AC traction on all its electrified tracks.[3]

Cross-border
Main article: Cross-border railway lines in India

India shares land border with multiple countries and have rail-links with some of them. Bangladesh is connected to West Bengal with a construction of new rail link connecting Tripura with Akhaura.[106][107] Two rail links to Nepal exist as of 2021, with a third under construction.[108] There is an existing railink with Pakistan through Attari–Wagah border.[109]

Signaling and communication

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See also: Railway signal and Railway signalling
 
Indian Railways uses coloured signal lights similar to the one pictured

Indian Railways uses a range of signalling technologies and methods to manage its train operations based on traffic density and safety requirements. As of March 2023, around 3,549 km (2,205 mi) of the route uses automatic block signalling for train operations – concentrated in high density routes, large cities and junctions.[3] Remaining routes are based on absolute block signalling with trains manually controlled by signal men from the signal boxes typically located at stations. Few low density routes still use manual block signalling methods with communication on track clearance based on physical exchange of tokens.[110] In a few sections, intermediate block signalling is provided to further enhance line capacity with minimal investment. As of March 2020, 602 block sections have intermediate block signals.[3] Indian Railways primarily uses coloured signal lights, which replaced the earlier semaphores and disc-based signalling. It uses two-aspect, three-aspect and four (or multiple) aspect color signalling across its network.[111][112]

Signals at most stations are interlocked using panel interlocking, route-relay interlocking or electronic interlocking methods that eliminate scope for human signalling errors. Indian Railways uses track circuiting, and block proving axle counters for train detection. As of March 2023, 6,523 stations have interlocked and multi-aspect signalling. Around 99% of key routes have track circuitry or block proving axle counters for automated train detection and Kavach automatic train protection system has been implemented in 1,445 km (898 mi) of tracks.[3] The railways has about 59,105 km (36,726 mi) of optical fiber cable network used for train control, voice and data communication with 3,445 km (2,141 mi) of the route covered by GSM-R based Mobile Train Radio communication.[3] In December 2017, Indian Railways announced that it will implement ETCS Level 2 system for signalling and control on key routes with an investment of ₹120 billion (US$1.4 billion).[113]

Stations

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See also: Categorization of Indian Railway stations by commercial importance

As of March 2023, Indian Railways manages and operates 7,308 stations.[3] Prior to 2017, the stations were classified into seven categories based on their earnings.[114] Since 2017, Indian Railways categorizes the stations by commercial importance into three different categories namely Non Suburban Group (NSG), Suburban Group (SG) and Halt Group (HG). These are further subdivided into subcategories based on their commercial importance (NSG 1–6, SG 1-3 and from HG 1–3).[115][114] The commercial importance of a station is determined by taking into account its passenger footfall, earnings and strategic importance and these categories are used to determine the minimum essential amenities required by each station.[116][115]

Services

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Passenger

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Travel classes

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Further information: Indian Railways coaching stock

Indian Railways offers various travel classes on its coaches.[117] For the purpose of identification in passenger trains, coaches in a train-set are assigned an alpha-numeric code. The first letter identifies the coach class and the second letter identifies the coach number.[118] The berths and seats are numbered by an alphanumeric code with the letter(s) identifying the berth/seat type and numbers identifying the position. In standard coaches, the berths and seats are classified as follows:[119]

Coach code (First digit)[118]
Class Code Image Description
First AC H   It is the most luxurious and expensive class in most express trains.[120][89] They have separate air-conditioned compartments with private lockable doors, bedding, dedicated attendants and meals served at seat.[121]
First Class F First class is similar to first AC coaches with a combination of cabins and berths but are non air-conditioned and do not have all the facilities of first AC coaches.[121] They were slated to be phased out of normal express trains starting in the 2000s and the last coach being de-commissioned in 2015.[122][123] The First class is still in use in toy trains where the coaches consist of seats similar to chair cars.[124]
Executive Anubhuti EA/K   Executive Anubhuti is the premium class of air-conditioned chair car equipped with retractable, large cushioned seats in 2x2 configuration. The class is equipped with an entertainment system, large luggage compartments, passenger information system, dedicated reading lights, power sockets and call buttons, modular bio toilets with automated taps. Meals often provided as a part of the journey ticket.[125] The class is available only in select trains.[125][126]
AC Executive Class E   AC Executive Class is often the top most class of air-conditioned chair car in express trains. It is equipped with large retractable seats in 2x2 configuration.[120][127] The class is equipped with dedicated reading lights and power sockets, modular bio toilets with automated taps. Meals are often provided as a part of the journey ticket.[121] In Vande Bharat Express trains, the class is equipped with more features including rotating seats, CCTVs, passenger information system, larger toilets, USB ports and automated doors.[128][129]
Executive Vistadome EV   AC Tourist cars have vistadome coaches with glass roofs and extra wide windows. The interiors are similar to AC chair car coaches. Select trains operating mostly on tourist circuits are equipped with such coaches.[130] Indian Railways plans to introduce these coaches in all mountain railways.[131]
Second AC or AC 2-tier A   Second AC or AC 2-tier is an air-conditioned sleeping car with wide sealed windows.[120] There are four berths arranged in two-tiers facing each other in a single bay with two-tiered berths arranged on the sides lengthwise across the corridor.[89] Individual berths are equipped with curtains, simple bedding, reading lights and charging sockets.[132][133] Food is available on order or as a part of the ticket depending on the train.[121]
Third AC or AC 3-tier B   Third AC or AC 3-tier is an air-conditioned sleeping car.[120] There are six berths arranged in three-tiers facing each other in a single bay with foldable middle berths and two-tiered berths arranged on the sides lengthwise across the corridor.[89] There are common charging sockets and lights in each compartment with simple bedding provided.[133] Food is available on order or as a part of the ticket depending on the train with the same menu shared with AC 2-tier.[121]
AC 3-tier economy G/M AC 3-tier economy coaches are air-conditioned sleeping cars similar to AC 3-tier.[120] Compared to 3-tier coaches, they have an extra middle berth along the aisle.[121] The coaches were first introduced in Garib Rath trains and only a few trains operate with such coaches.[134] Bedding is available for rent and the coaches have facilities like charging sockets and lights similar to AC 3-tier coaches.[134] New AC 3-tier economy coaches introduced in 2021 have similar berth arrangement as AC 3-tier but accommodates 83 berths per coach and other improved facilities.[135][136]
AC Chair Car C   AC chair car are air-conditioned coaches equipped with retractable seats in 3x2 configuration.[120] The class has cushioned seats with tray tables and are equipped with LED reading lights, power sockets along the window side. Meals are provided as a part of the journey ticket in select trains.[121] In Vande Bharat Express trains, the class is equipped with more features including passenger information system, CCTVs, larger toilets and automated doors.[137][138]
Sleeper S   Sleeper class is the most common sleeping car coach in Indian Railways.[120] There are six berths arranged in three-tiers facing each other in a single bay with foldable middle berths and two-tiered berths arranged on the sides lengthwise across the corridor.[89] The coaches are not air-conditioned and have open-able windows. There are common charging sockets, ceiling mounted fans and lights in each compartment. Food is available on order or can be purchased from vendors.[121]
Second sitting D/J   Second sitting is the most common chair car coach and the cheapest in the Indian Railways.[120] It is common in most day-time running trains with six seats arranged in 3x3 configuration. The seats may face each other or towards the same side.[89] The coaches are not air-conditioned and have open-able windows. There are common charging sockets, ceiling mounted fans and lights in each compartment. Food is available on order or can be purchased from vendors.[121]
Unreserved or General UR/GS   Unreserved or general coaches are second seating coaches which are not available for reservation and seats are taken on available basis.[120] One or more of these coaches are attached to express trains while dedicated passenger trains might also have all unreserved coaches. Tickets are valid on any train on a route only for within 24 hours of purchase.[139]

Saloon coaches are also available for chartering which are equipped with a bedroom and kitchen and can be attached to normal trains.[140]

Passenger trains

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Express trains of India
 
Rajdhani Express
 
Shatabdi Express

Indian Railways operates various classes of passenger and express trains. The trains are classified basis average speed and facilities with express trains having fewer halts, priority on rail network and faster average speed. The trains are identified by five digit numbers with train-pairs traveling in opposite directions usually labelled with consecutive numbers.[141] Express trains often have specific unique names for easy identification.[142] In 2018–19, Indian Railways operated 13,523 passenger trains on average daily and carried 8.44 billion passengers.[143] India Railways operates various categories of express trains including Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express, Garib Rath Express, Double Decker Express, Tejas Express, Gatimaan Express, Humsafar Express, Duronto Express, Yuva Express, Uday Express, Jan Shatabdi Express, Sampark Kranti Express, Vivek Express, Rajya Rani Express, Mahamana Express, Antyodaya Express, Jan Sadharan Express, Suvidha Express and Intercity Express.[142]

 
Amrit Bharat semi-high speed rail

High-speed rail

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Rajdhani Express introduced in 1969 were the first trains to reach speeds of up to 120 km/h (75 mph).[29] Shatabdi Express introduced in 1988, are capable of running at a maximum speed of 150 km/h (93 mph).[144][145] In 2019, Vande Bharat Express was launched with self-propelled EMU train-sets capable of reaching maximum speed of 180 km/h (110 mph) with operational speeds restricted to 130–160 km/h (81–99 mph).[146][147] A non-airconditioned semi-high speed train-set hauled by two modified WAP-5 locomotives was launched as Amrit Bharat Express.[148] A high-speed rail line is under-construction between Mumbai and Ahmedabad which will become the first true high-speed rail line when completed in 2026.[149]

Mountain railways

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Mountain Railways of India
 
Darjeeling
 
Kalka-Shimla
 
Nilgiri

Mountain Railways of India refer to three rail lines operated by Indian Railways in hilly terrain. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a 610 mm (2 ft) narrow-gauge railway in the Lesser Himalayas of West Bengal was opened in 1881. [150] The mountain railways were designated as World Heritage Sites in 1999.[150] The Kalka-Shimla Railway, a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge railway in the Siwalik Hills of Himachal Pradesh started operating in 1903. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge rack railway in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu was opened in 1908 and is the only operational rack railway in India.[151][150] These railways operate with its own dedicated fleet of locomotives and coaches.[152]

Suburban and metro

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Urban Rail systems
 
Mumbai Suburban
 
Kolkata Metro
 
Chennai MRTS

The first suburban electric trains were introduced in Bombay in 1925.[83][153] Chennai suburban lines started operating in 1931 and Kolkata in 1957.[154][155] Later, AC traction was adopted for suburban lines and are currently operated by Multiple Units (MUs) of various configurations. In 1984, Kolkata Metro, the first metro system and the only system operated by Indian Railways was commissioned.[156] Opened in November 1995, Chennai MRTS became the first operational elevated railway line in India.[18] Indian Railways operates suburban railway systems across the cities of Mumbai (suburban), Chennai (suburban and MRTS), Kolkata (suburban and metro) and Secunderabad (MMTS) covering six railway zones.[83]

Tourism

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Indian Railways offers tour packages through IRCTC.[157] It operates tourist trains and coach services on popular tourist circuits in different regions of the country. It operates luxury tourist trains such as Maharajas' Express, Palace on Wheels, Golden Chariot and Deccan Odyssey, deluxe tourist trains such as Mahaparinirvan Express.[3][158] It also operates heritage and exhibition trains on special circumstances.[159]

Ticketing and fares

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A standard printed Indian Railway ticket

In 1986, computerized ticketing and reservations were introduced before which ticketing was done manually.[33] Self-printing ticket machines (SPTM) were introduced in 1988.[34] Centralized computer reservation system was deployed in September 1996.[6] The ticketing network at stations is computerized with the exception of few stations. The Indian Railways website went online in February 2000 and online ticketing was introduced on 3 August 2002 through IRCTC.[35] Indian Railways now provides multiple channels for passengers to book tickets through website, smartphone apps, SMS, rail reservation counters at train stations, or through private ticket booking counters. Reserved tickets may be booked up to 60 days in advance and confirmed reservation tickets will show the passenger and fare details along with berth or seat number(s) allocated to them on the ticket.

In case of no confirmed reservation, a wait-list number is assigned and wait-listed tickets get confirmed if there are cancellations of already reserved tickets. Reservation against cancellation tickets is an intermediate category between the waiting and confirmed lists in sleeper classes which allows a ticket holder to board the train and share a berth.[160] Reserved tickets can be booked by passengers who want to travel at short notice at higher fares through the Tatkal train ticket, where no refund is applicable on cancellation.[161] A valid proof for the purchase of ticket along with photo identification is required to board the train.[162] Unreserved tickets for short distance or unplanned travels may be purchased at stations or through UTS mobile app at any time before departure.[163] Holders of such tickets may only board the general or unreserved coaches. Suburban networks also issue unreserved tickets valid for a limited time or season passes with unlimited travel between two stops for a period of time.[164][165]

India has some of the lowest train fares in the world, and lower class passenger fares are subsidised.[166][167] Discounted fares are applicable for railway employees, senior citizens (over age 60), the differently-abled, students, athletes, patients and those taking competitive examinations. Seats of lower class of accommodation are reserved for women or senior citizens in some trains.[168]

Freight

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A hybrid coach with provision to carry small cargo and mail, often attached to passenger trains

The first rail operational in Madras in 1837 was used for ferrying granite.[7] The first dedicated commercial freight rail was operated between Bombay and Ahmedabad in 1966.[6] Indian Railways ferries various commodities and cargo to cater to various industrial, consumer, and agricultural segments. Apart from dedicated freight trains, parcels, mail and small cargo are carried on specialized carriages attached to passenger trains.[97] In 2022–23, Indian Railways operated 8,479 trains on average daily and transported 1418.1 million tonnes of freight.[3]

Indian Railways has historically subsidized the passenger segment with income from the freight business and prioritized passenger trains on the network. Hence, freight services were unable to complete other modes of transport on both cost and speed of delivery, leading to continuous erosion of market share till the early 2000s.[169] To counter this, Indian Railways established the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India in 2006 to construct dedicated freight corridors to reduce congestion, increase speed and reliability and proposed upgradation of existing goods sheds, attracting private capital to build multi-commodity multi-modal logistics terminals, changing container sizes, operating time-tabled freight trains and tweaking with the freight pricing/product mix.[170] End-to-end integrated transport solutions such as roll-on, roll-off (RORO) service, a road-rail system pioneered by Konkan Railway in 1999 to carry trucks on flatbed trailers is extended to other routes.[171]

Accidents and incidents

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Main article: List of railway accidents and incidents in India

As per the Ministry of Railways, there have been more than 38,500 railway accidents from 1961 to 2019.[172] In 2019-20, the Indian Railways reported zero passenger deaths due to accidents for the first time in its history.[173] At least 313 people died in 40 train accidents in 2023-24 and 748 people have died in 638 train accidents in the previous ten years.[174]

Accidents of Indian Railways[172]
Span Accidents Train kms (million) Accidents per million kms
Collisions Derailments Level crossing Fire Others Total
1961-1970 834 10,664 1,394 1,037 0 13,929 4,339 3.21
1971-1980 588 6,763 1,120 185 0 8,665 4,810 1.80
1981-1990 475 6,242 677 176 0 7,570 5,598 1.35
1991-2000 340 3,583 632 77 0 4,642 6,559 0.70
2001-2010 135 1,680 803 93 52 2,763 8,333 0.33
2011-2019 43 567 352 54 16 1,023 10,134 0.10

See also

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Further reading

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  • Aguiar, Marian. Tracking Modernity: India's Railway and the Culture of Mobility (University of Minnesota Press; 2011) 226 pages; draws on literature, film, and other realms to explore the role of the railway in the Indian imagination. excerpt and text search
  • Bear, Linda. Lines of the Nation: Indian Railway Workers, Bureaucracy, and the Intimate Historical Self (2007) excerpt and text search
  • Hurd, John, and Ian J. Kerr. India’s Railway History: A Research Handbook (Brill: 2012), 338pp
  • Kerr, Ian J. Railways in Modern India (2001) excerpt and text search
  • Kerr, Ian J. Engines of Change: The Railroads That Made India (2006)
  • Kumar, Sudhir, and Shagun Mehrotra. Bankruptcy to Billions: How the Indian Railways Transformed Itself (2009)
  • Macpherson, W. J. "Investment in Indian Railways, 1845-1875." Economic History Review, 8#2, 1955, pp. 177–186 online
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