Indian Railways:
Indian Railways (Hindi भारतीय रेल), abbreviated as (Hindi भारे ) IR, is a Departme
nt of the Government of India, under the Ministry of Railways, and is tasked with operating the rail network in India. The Ministry is headed by a cabinet rank Railways Minister, while the Department is managed by the Railway Board. Indian Railways is not a private corporate body; however, of late IR has adopted a corporate management style.
Indian Railways has a total state monopoly on India's rail transport. It is one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting sixteen million passengers1 and more than one million tonnes of freight daily.2 IR is the world's largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.6 million employees.3
The railways traverse the length and breadth of the country; the routes cover a total length of 63,140 km (39,233 miles). As of 2002, IR owned a total of 216,717 wagons, 39,263 coaches and 7,739 locomotives and ran a total of 14,444 trains daily, including about 8,702 passenger trains.2
Railways were first introduced to India in 1853. By 1947, the year of India's indepen
dence, there were forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalized as one unit, becoming one of the largest networks in the world. Indian Railways operates both long distance and suburban rail systems.
History:
nt of the Government of India, under the Ministry of Railways, and is tasked with operating the rail network in India. The Ministry is headed by a cabinet rank Railways Minister, while the Department is managed by the Railway Board. Indian Railways is not a private corporate body; however, of late IR has adopted a corporate management style.Indian Railways has a total state monopoly on India's rail transport. It is one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting sixteen million passengers1 and more than one million tonnes of freight daily.2 IR is the world's largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.6 million employees.3
The railways traverse the length and breadth of the country; the routes cover a total length of 63,140 km (39,233 miles). As of 2002, IR owned a total of 216,717 wagons, 39,263 coaches and 7,739 locomotives and ran a total of 14,444 trains daily, including about 8,702 passenger trains.2
Railways were first introduced to India in 1853. By 1947, the year of India's indepen
dence, there were forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalized as one unit, becoming one of the largest networks in the world. Indian Railways operates both long distance and suburban rail systems.History:
A plan for a rail system in India was first put forward in 1832, but no further steps were taken for more than a decade. In 1844, the Governor-General of India Lord Hardinge allowed private entrepreneurs to set up a rail system in India. Two new railway companies were created and the East India Company was asked to assist them. Interest from investors in the UK led to the rapid creation of a rail system over the next few years. The first train in India became operational on 22 December 1851, and was used for the hauling of construction material in Roorkee. A year and a half later, on 16 April 1853, the first passenger train service was inaugurated between Bori Bunder, Bombay and Thane. 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.
The British government encouraged new railway companies backed by private investors under a scheme that would guarantee an annual return of five percent during the initial years of operation. Once established, the company would be transferred to the government, with the original company retaining operational control. The route mileage of this network was about 14,500 km (9,000 miles) by 1880, mostly radiating inward from the three major port cities of Bombay (Mumbai), Madras (Chennai) and Calcutta ( Kolkata). By 1895, Indi
a had started building its own locomotives, and in 1896 sent engineers and locomotives to help build the Uganda Railway.
Soon various independent kingdoms built their own rail systems and the network spread to the regions that became the modern-day states of Assam, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. A Railway Board was constituted in 1901, but decision-making power was retained by the Viceroy, Lord Curzon. The Railway Board operated under aegis of the Department of Commerce and Industry and had three members: a government railway official serving as chairman, a railway manager from England and an agent of one of the company railways. For the first time in its history, the Railways began to make a tidy profit. In 1907, almost all the rail companies were taken over by the government.
The following year, the first electric locomotive appeared. With the arrival of the First World War, the railways were used to meet the needs of the British outside India. By the end of the First World War, the railways had suffered immensely and were in a poor state
. The government took over the management of the Railways and removed the link between the financing of the Railways and other governmental revenues in 1920, a practice that continues to date with a separate railway budget.
The Second World War severely crippled the railways as trains were diverted to the Middle East, and the railway workshops were converted into munitions workshops. At the time of independence in 1947, a large portion of the railways went to the then newly formed Pakistan. A total of forty-two separate railway systems, including thirty-two lines owned by the former Indian princely states, were amalgamated as a single unit which was christened as the Indian Railways.
The existing rail networks were abandoned in favour of zones in 1951 and a total of six zones came into being in 1952. As the economy of India improved, almost all railway production units were indigenised. 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.
Indian Railways is the second largest employer in the world, after the Chinese military.
Railway zones:
For administrative purposes, Indian Railways is divided into seventeen zones.
No. Name Abbr. Headquarters Date established 1. Northern Railway NR Delhi April 14, 1952 2. North Eastern Railway NER Gorakhpur 1952 3. Northeast Frontier Railway NFR Guwahati 1958 4. Eastern Railway ER Kolkata April, 1952 5. South Eastern Railway SER Kolkata 1955, 6. South Central Railway SCR Secunderabad October 2, 1966 7. Southern R
ailway SR Chennai April 14, 1951 8. Central Railway CR Mumbai November 5, 1951 9. Western Railway WR Mumbai November 5, 1951 10. South Western Railway SWR Hubli April 1, 2003 11. North Western Railway NWR Jaipur October 1, 2002 12. West Central Railway WCR Jabalpur April 1, 2003 13. North Central Railway NCR Allahabad April 1, 2003 14. South East Central Railway SECR Bilaspur, CG April 1, 2003 15. East Coast Railway ECoR Bhubaneswar April 1, 2003 16. East Central Railway ECR Hajipur October 1, 2002 17. Konkan Railway† KR Navi Mumbai January 26, 1998
†Konkan Railway (KR) is constituted as a separately incorporated railway, with its headquarters at Belapur CBD (Navi Mumbai). It comes under the control of the Railway Ministry and the Railway Board.
The Calcutta Metro is owned and operated by Indian Railways, but is not a part of any of the zones. It is administratively considered to have the status of a zonal railway. Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. There are a total of sixty-seven divisions.
A bettercitation needed schematic Map of Indian Railway NetworkZonal Railway Divisions Northern Railway Delhi, Ambala, Firozpur, Lucknow, Moradabad North Eastern Railway Izzatnagar, Lucknow, Varanasi Northeast Frontier Railway Alipurduar, Katihar, Lumding, Rangia, Tinsukia Eastern Railway Howrah, Sealdah, Asansol, Malda South Eastern Railway Adra, Chakradharpur, Kharagpur, Ranchi South Central Railway Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Guntakal, Guntur, Nanded, Vijayawada Southern Railway Chennai, Madurai, Palghat, Tir
uchchirapalli, Trivandrum, Salem(Coimbatore) Central Railway Mumbai, Bhusawal, Pune, Solapur, Nagpur Western Railway Mumbai Central, Baroda, Ratlam, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Bhavnagar South Western Railway Hubli, Bangalore, Mysore North Western Railway Jaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur West Central Railway Jabalpur, Bhopal, Kota North Central Railway Allahabad, Agra, Jhansi South East Central Railway Bilaspur, Raipur, Nagpur East Coast Railway Khurda Road, Sambalpur, Visakhapatnam East Central Railway Danapur, Dhanbad, Mughalsarai, Samastipur, Sonpur
Passenger services:Indian Railways operates 8,702 passenger trains and transports 15 million daily across twenty-eight states and three union territories (Delhi, Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry) and Chandigarh). Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya are the only states not connected.
The passenger division is the most preferred form of long distance transport in most of the country.
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, but may actually accommodate many more during the holiday seasons and on busy rout
es. The coaches in use are vestibules, but some of these may be dummied on some trains for operational reasons. Freight trains use a large variety of wagons.
Each coach has different accommodation class; the most popular being the sleeper class. Up to nine of these type coaches are usually coupled. Air conditioned coaches are also attached, and a standard train may have between three and five air-conditioned coaches. Online unreserved passenger ticketing (suburban and non-suburban), introduced in 2002, is now available in about 1000 stations (2008) and is expected to top 1,00,00,000 tickets per day by the time it is installed in all 5000 stations. ATMs in many stations are equipped to dispense long-distance tickets, and some ATMs are even being installed on board select trains as well. Rail ticket booking through cell(ular) phone SMS is also being put in place.
Production Services:
The Indian Railways manufactures a lot of its rolling stock and heavy engineering components. This is largely due to historical reasons. As with most developing economies, the main reason is import substitution of expensive technology related products. This was relevant when the general state of the national engineering industry was immature.
Production Units, the manufacturing plants of the Indian Railways, are managed directly by the ministry. The General Managers of the PUs report to the Railway Board.
The British government encouraged new railway companies backed by private investors under a scheme that would guarantee an annual return of five percent during the initial years of operation. Once established, the company would be transferred to the government, with the original company retaining operational control. The route mileage of this network was about 14,500 km (9,000 miles) by 1880, mostly radiating inward from the three major port cities of Bombay (Mumbai), Madras (Chennai) and Calcutta ( Kolkata). By 1895, Indi
a had started building its own locomotives, and in 1896 sent engineers and locomotives to help build the Uganda Railway.Soon various independent kingdoms built their own rail systems and the network spread to the regions that became the modern-day states of Assam, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh. A Railway Board was constituted in 1901, but decision-making power was retained by the Viceroy, Lord Curzon. The Railway Board operated under aegis of the Department of Commerce and Industry and had three members: a government railway official serving as chairman, a railway manager from England and an agent of one of the company railways. For the first time in its history, the Railways began to make a tidy profit. In 1907, almost all the rail companies were taken over by the government.
The following year, the first electric locomotive appeared. With the arrival of the First World War, the railways were used to meet the needs of the British outside India. By the end of the First World War, the railways had suffered immensely and were in a poor state
. The government took over the management of the Railways and removed the link between the financing of the Railways and other governmental revenues in 1920, a practice that continues to date with a separate railway budget.The Second World War severely crippled the railways as trains were diverted to the Middle East, and the railway workshops were converted into munitions workshops. At the time of independence in 1947, a large portion of the railways went to the then newly formed Pakistan. A total of forty-two separate railway systems, including thirty-two lines owned by the former Indian princely states, were amalgamated as a single unit which was christened as the Indian Railways.
The existing rail networks were abandoned in favour of zones in 1951 and a total of six zones came into being in 1952. As the economy of India improved, almost all railway production units were indigenised. 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.
Indian Railways is the second largest employer in the world, after the Chinese military.
Railway zones:
For administrative purposes, Indian Railways is divided into seventeen zones.
No. Name Abbr. Headquarters Date established 1. Northern Railway NR Delhi April 14, 1952 2. North Eastern Railway NER Gorakhpur 1952 3. Northeast Frontier Railway NFR Guwahati 1958 4. Eastern Railway ER Kolkata April, 1952 5. South Eastern Railway SER Kolkata 1955, 6. South Central Railway SCR Secunderabad October 2, 1966 7. Southern R
ailway SR Chennai April 14, 1951 8. Central Railway CR Mumbai November 5, 1951 9. Western Railway WR Mumbai November 5, 1951 10. South Western Railway SWR Hubli April 1, 2003 11. North Western Railway NWR Jaipur October 1, 2002 12. West Central Railway WCR Jabalpur April 1, 2003 13. North Central Railway NCR Allahabad April 1, 2003 14. South East Central Railway SECR Bilaspur, CG April 1, 2003 15. East Coast Railway ECoR Bhubaneswar April 1, 2003 16. East Central Railway ECR Hajipur October 1, 2002 17. Konkan Railway† KR Navi Mumbai January 26, 1998†Konkan Railway (KR) is constituted as a separately incorporated railway, with its headquarters at Belapur CBD (Navi Mumbai). It comes under the control of the Railway Ministry and the Railway Board.
The Calcutta Metro is owned and operated by Indian Railways, but is not a part of any of the zones. It is administratively considered to have the status of a zonal railway. Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. There are a total of sixty-seven divisions.
A bettercitation needed schematic Map of Indian Railway NetworkZonal Railway Divisions Northern Railway Delhi, Ambala, Firozpur, Lucknow, Moradabad North Eastern Railway Izzatnagar, Lucknow, Varanasi Northeast Frontier Railway Alipurduar, Katihar, Lumding, Rangia, Tinsukia Eastern Railway Howrah, Sealdah, Asansol, Malda South Eastern Railway Adra, Chakradharpur, Kharagpur, Ranchi South Central Railway Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Guntakal, Guntur, Nanded, Vijayawada Southern Railway Chennai, Madurai, Palghat, Tir
uchchirapalli, Trivandrum, Salem(Coimbatore) Central Railway Mumbai, Bhusawal, Pune, Solapur, Nagpur Western Railway Mumbai Central, Baroda, Ratlam, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Bhavnagar South Western Railway Hubli, Bangalore, Mysore North Western Railway Jaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur West Central Railway Jabalpur, Bhopal, Kota North Central Railway Allahabad, Agra, Jhansi South East Central Railway Bilaspur, Raipur, Nagpur East Coast Railway Khurda Road, Sambalpur, Visakhapatnam East Central Railway Danapur, Dhanbad, Mughalsarai, Samastipur, SonpurPassenger services:Indian Railways operates 8,702 passenger trains and transports 15 million daily across twenty-eight states and three union territories (Delhi, Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry) and Chandigarh). Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya are the only states not connected.
The passenger division is the most preferred form of long distance transport in most of the country.
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, but may actually accommodate many more during the holiday seasons and on busy rout
es. The coaches in use are vestibules, but some of these may be dummied on some trains for operational reasons. Freight trains use a large variety of wagons.Each coach has different accommodation class; the most popular being the sleeper class. Up to nine of these type coaches are usually coupled. Air conditioned coaches are also attached, and a standard train may have between three and five air-conditioned coaches. Online unreserved passenger ticketing (suburban and non-suburban), introduced in 2002, is now available in about 1000 stations (2008) and is expected to top 1,00,00,000 tickets per day by the time it is installed in all 5000 stations. ATMs in many stations are equipped to dispense long-distance tickets, and some ATMs are even being installed on board select trains as well. Rail ticket booking through cell(ular) phone SMS is also being put in place.
Production Services:
The Indian Railways manufactures a lot of its rolling stock and heavy engineering components. This is largely due to historical reasons. As with most developing economies, the main reason is import substitution of expensive technology related products. This was relevant when the general state of the national engineering industry was immature.
Production Units, the manufacturing plants of the Indian Railways, are managed directly by the ministry. The General Managers of the PUs report to the Railway Board.
The Production Units are:
Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Chittaranjan Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works, Patiala Integral Coach Factory, Chennai Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala Rail Wheel Factory, Bangalore Other independent units of Indian Railways are:
Central Organization For Railway Electrification, Allahabad Central Organization For Modernization of Workshops, New Delhi Important maintenance workshops on IR are:
Southern Railway Workshop, Ponmalai (Golden Rock), Tiruchirapalli Rail Spring Karkhana, Gwalior Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Bangalore (BEML) is not part of railways, but manufactures coaches for IR and Metro coaches for DMRC and going forward for Bangalore Metro also.
Suburban rail:
Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Chittaranjan Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works, Patiala Integral Coach Factory, Chennai Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala Rail Wheel Factory, Bangalore Other independent units of Indian Railways are:
Central Organization For Railway Electrification, Allahabad Central Organization For Modernization of Workshops, New Delhi Important maintenance workshops on IR are:
Southern Railway Workshop, Ponmalai (Golden Rock), Tiruchirapalli Rail Spring Karkhana, Gwalior Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Bangalore (BEML) is not part of railways, but manufactures coaches for IR and Metro coaches for DMRC and going forward for Bangalore Metro also.
Suburban rail:
Many cities have their own dedicated suburban networks to cater to commuters. Currently, suburban networks operate in Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune. Hyderabad, and Pune do not have dedicated suburban tracks but share the tracks with long distance trains. New Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata have their own metro networks, namely the New Delhi Metro, the Chennai MRTS- Mass Rapid Transport System, same as other local EMU suburban service as in Mumbai and Kolkata etc., but with dedicated tracks mostly laid on a flyover and the Kolkata Metro, respectively.
Suburban trains that handle commuter traffic are mostly electric multiple units. They usually have nine coaches or sometimes twelve to handle rush hour traffic (Hyderabad MMTS; abbreviation for Multi Modal Transport System has mostly six coach train with a single nine coach one). 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 run on direct current, while those elsewhere use alter
nating current 4. 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. The Kolkata metro has the administrative status of a zonal railway, though it does not come under the seventeen railway zones.
Mumbai's trains handle 2 billion people annuallyThe Suburban trains in Mumbai handle more rush than any other suburban network in the world.citation needed The network has three lines viz, western, central and harbour. The Central Line starts from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) (Formerly Victoria Terminus or VT) and runs for more than 100 km till Kasara. The Western Line starting from Churchgate runs again for more than 100 km till Dahanu Road. It is thus the longest suburban rail system in the world. Also, it is busiest suburban network in the world, in the sense that it carries more than 6 million passengers each day. On 11 July 2006 six bombs were set off on these trains, targeted at the general public.
Freight:
Suburban trains that handle commuter traffic are mostly electric multiple units. They usually have nine coaches or sometimes twelve to handle rush hour traffic (Hyderabad MMTS; abbreviation for Multi Modal Transport System has mostly six coach train with a single nine coach one). 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 run on direct current, while those elsewhere use alter
nating current 4. 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. The Kolkata metro has the administrative status of a zonal railway, though it does not come under the seventeen railway zones.Mumbai's trains handle 2 billion people annuallyThe Suburban trains in Mumbai handle more rush than any other suburban network in the world.citation needed The network has three lines viz, western, central and harbour. The Central Line starts from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) (Formerly Victoria Terminus or VT) and runs for more than 100 km till Kasara. The Western Line starting from Churchgate runs again for more than 100 km till Dahanu Road. It is thus the longest suburban rail system in the world. Also, it is busiest suburban network in the world, in the sense that it carries more than 6 million passengers each day. On 11 July 2006 six bombs were set off on these trains, targeted at the general public.
Freight:
A single line rail bridge The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is a World Heritage Site, and one of the few places where steam engines are still in operation in India. A Beyer Garrett 6594 Engine seen at the National Rail MuseumIR 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 freigh
t 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 freight traffic in recent years. Since the 1990s, Indian Railways has switched from small consignments to larger container movement 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 100 km/h (62 mph) for a 4,700 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 11,000 km freight corridor linking India's biggest cities has recently been approved. The railways has increased load limits for the system's 220,000 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.
Notable trains and achievements:The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a narrow gauge railway that still regularly uses steam as well as diesel locomotives is classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The route started earlier at Siliguri and now at New Jalpaiguri in the plains in West Bengal and traverses tea gardens en route to Darjeeling, a hill station at an elevation of 2,134 metres (7,000 ft). The highest station in this route is Ghum. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, in the Nilgiri Hills in southern India, is also classified as a World Heritage Site by U
NESCO.5 It is also the only rack railway in India. The Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) railway station in Mumbai is another World Heritage Site operated by Indian Railways.
Railway Pantry Cars Emergency Openable window in passenger trainsThe Palace on Wheels is a specially designed train, frequently hauled by a steam locomotive, for promoting tourism in Rajasthan. The Maharashtra government did try to introduce the Deccan Odyssey along the Konkan route, but it did not enjoy the same success as the Palace on Wheels. The Samjhauta Express 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 (Pakistan) and Munabao (India) is the Thar Express that restarted operations on February 18, 2006; it was closed down after the 1965 Indo-Pak war. The Kalka Shimla Railway till recently featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for offering the steepest rise in altitude in the space of 96 kilometres.6
The Lifeline Express 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 is the oldest running locomotive on the mainline (though only for specials) in the world today, though the distinction of the oldest surviving locomotive that has recently seen service belongs to John Bull. Kharagpur railway station also has the distinction of being the world's longest railway platform at 1072 m (3,517 ft). The Ghum station along the Darjeeling Toy Train route is the second highest railway station in the world to be reached by a steam locomotive.7 Indian Railways operates 7,566 locomotives; 37,840 Coaching vehicles and 222,147 freight wagons. There are a total of 6,853 stations; 300 yards; 2,300 goods-sheds; 700 repair shops and a total workforce of 1.54 million.8
The shortest named station is Ib and the longest is Sri Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta. The Himsagar Express, between Kanyakumari and Jammu Tawi, has the longest run in terms of distance and time on Indian Railways network. It covers 3,745 km (2,327 miles) in about 74 hours and 55 minutes. The Bhopal Shatabdi Express is the fastest train in India today having a maximum speed of 140 km/h (87 mph) on the Faridabad-Agra section. The f
astest speed attained by any train is 184 km/h (114 mph) in 2000 during test runs. This speed is much lower than fast trains in other parts of the world. The difference in these speeds could be in part attributed to the fact that the trains run on existing tracks, which were not designed for such high speeds.
Organisational structure:
Indian Railways makes 70% of its revenues and most of its profits from the freigh
t 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 freight traffic in recent years. Since the 1990s, Indian Railways has switched from small consignments to larger container movement 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 100 km/h (62 mph) for a 4,700 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 11,000 km freight corridor linking India's biggest cities has recently been approved. The railways has increased load limits for the system's 220,000 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.
Notable trains and achievements:The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a narrow gauge railway that still regularly uses steam as well as diesel locomotives is classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The route started earlier at Siliguri and now at New Jalpaiguri in the plains in West Bengal and traverses tea gardens en route to Darjeeling, a hill station at an elevation of 2,134 metres (7,000 ft). The highest station in this route is Ghum. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, in the Nilgiri Hills in southern India, is also classified as a World Heritage Site by U
NESCO.5 It is also the only rack railway in India. The Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) railway station in Mumbai is another World Heritage Site operated by Indian Railways.Railway Pantry Cars Emergency Openable window in passenger trainsThe Palace on Wheels is a specially designed train, frequently hauled by a steam locomotive, for promoting tourism in Rajasthan. The Maharashtra government did try to introduce the Deccan Odyssey along the Konkan route, but it did not enjoy the same success as the Palace on Wheels. The Samjhauta Express 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 (Pakistan) and Munabao (India) is the Thar Express that restarted operations on February 18, 2006; it was closed down after the 1965 Indo-Pak war. The Kalka Shimla Railway till recently featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for offering the steepest rise in altitude in the space of 96 kilometres.6
The Lifeline Express 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 is the oldest running locomotive on the mainline (though only for specials) in the world today, though the distinction of the oldest surviving locomotive that has recently seen service belongs to John Bull. Kharagpur railway station also has the distinction of being the world's longest railway platform at 1072 m (3,517 ft). The Ghum station along the Darjeeling Toy Train route is the second highest railway station in the world to be reached by a steam locomotive.7 Indian Railways operates 7,566 locomotives; 37,840 Coaching vehicles and 222,147 freight wagons. There are a total of 6,853 stations; 300 yards; 2,300 goods-sheds; 700 repair shops and a total workforce of 1.54 million.8
The shortest named station is Ib and the longest is Sri Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta. The Himsagar Express, between Kanyakumari and Jammu Tawi, has the longest run in terms of distance and time on Indian Railways network. It covers 3,745 km (2,327 miles) in about 74 hours and 55 minutes. The Bhopal Shatabdi Express is the fastest train in India today having a maximum speed of 140 km/h (87 mph) on the Faridabad-Agra section. The f
astest speed attained by any train is 184 km/h (114 mph) in 2000 during test runs. This speed is much lower than fast trains in other parts of the world. The difference in these speeds could be in part attributed to the fact that the trains run on existing tracks, which were not designed for such high speeds.Organisational structure:
Indian Railways is a department of the Government, being owned and controlled by the Government of India, via the Ministry of Railways rather than a private company. As of 2007, the Railway Ministry is currently headed by Laloo Prasad Yadav, the Union Minister for Railways and assisted by two junior Ministers of State for Railways, R. Velu and Naranbhai J. Rathwa. Indian Railways is administered by the Railway Board, which has six members and a chairman.
Each of the sixteen zones 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 & 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. In addition to the zones, the six production units (PUs) are each headed by a General Manager (GM), who also reports directly to the Railway Board.
In addition to this the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE), Metro Railway, Calcutta and construction organisation of N F Railway are also headed by a General Manager. CORE is located at Allahabad. This organisation undertakes electrification projects of Indian Railway and monitors the progress of various electrification projects all over the country.
Apart from these zones and production units, a number of Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) are under the administrative control of the ministry of railways. These PSU units are:
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Konkan Railway Corporation Indian Railway Finance Corporation Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation Railtel Corporation of India – Telecommunication Networks RITES Ltd. – Consulting Division of Indian Railways IRCON International Ltd. – Construction Division Rail Vikas Nigam Limited Container Corporation Limited Rail Land Development Authority –for land management Centre for Railway Information Systems is an autonomous society under Railway Board, which is responsible for developing the major software required by Indian Railways for its operations.
Rail budget and finances:
Each of the sixteen zones 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 & 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. In addition to the zones, the six production units (PUs) are each headed by a General Manager (GM), who also reports directly to the Railway Board.
In addition to this the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE), Metro Railway, Calcutta and construction organisation of N F Railway are also headed by a General Manager. CORE is located at Allahabad. This organisation undertakes electrification projects of Indian Railway and monitors the progress of various electrification projects all over the country.
Apart from these zones and production units, a number of Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) are under the administrative control of the ministry of railways. These PSU units are:
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Konkan Railway Corporation Indian Railway Finance Corporation Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation Railtel Corporation of India – Telecommunication Networks RITES Ltd. – Consulting Division of Indian Railways IRCON International Ltd. – Construction Division Rail Vikas Nigam Limited Container Corporation Limited Rail Land Development Authority –for land management Centre for Railway Information Systems is an autonomous society under Railway Board, which is responsible for developing the major software required by Indian Railways for its operations.
Rail budget and finances:
The Railway Budget deals with the induction and improvement of existing trains and routes, the modernisation and most importantly the tariff for freight and passenger travel. The Parliament discusses the policies and allocations proposed in the budget. The budget needs to be passed by a simple majority in the Lok Sabha (India's Lower House). The comments of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) are non binding. Indian Railways are subject to the same audit control as other government revenue and expenditures. Based on the anticipated traffic and the projected tariff, the level of resources required for railway's capital and revenue expenditure 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 Budgetory 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, 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.
A 'Rail Over Bridge' under construction in Guntur Division.The formation of policy and overall control of the railways is vested in Railway Board comprising the Chairman, Financial Commissioner and other functional Members for Traffic, Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical and Staff matters. As per the 2006 budget, Indian Railways earned Rs. 54,600 crores9 (Rs. 546,000 million or US$12,300 million). Freight earnings increased by 10% from Rs. 30,450 cr (US$7,000 million) in the previous year. Passenger earnings, other coaching earnings and sundry other earnings increased by 7%, 19% and 56% respectively over previous year. Its year end fund balance is expected to stand at Rs. 11,280 cr (2.54 billion US$).10
Around 20% of the passenger revenue is earned from the upper class segments of the passenger segment (the air-conditioned classes). The overall passenger traffic grew 7.5% in the previous year. In the first two months of India's fiscal year 2005–06 (April and May), the Railways registered a 10% growth in passenger traffic, and a 12% in passenger earnings.11
A new concern faced by Indian Railways is competition from low cost airlines that has recently made its début in India. In a cost cutting move, the Railways plans to minimise unwanted cessations, and scrap unpopular routes.
Current issues:
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, 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.
A 'Rail Over Bridge' under construction in Guntur Division.The formation of policy and overall control of the railways is vested in Railway Board comprising the Chairman, Financial Commissioner and other functional Members for Traffic, Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical and Staff matters. As per the 2006 budget, Indian Railways earned Rs. 54,600 crores9 (Rs. 546,000 million or US$12,300 million). Freight earnings increased by 10% from Rs. 30,450 cr (US$7,000 million) in the previous year. Passenger earnings, other coaching earnings and sundry other earnings increased by 7%, 19% and 56% respectively over previous year. Its year end fund balance is expected to stand at Rs. 11,280 cr (2.54 billion US$).10
Around 20% of the passenger revenue is earned from the upper class segments of the passenger segment (the air-conditioned classes). The overall passenger traffic grew 7.5% in the previous year. In the first two months of India's fiscal year 2005–06 (April and May), the Railways registered a 10% growth in passenger traffic, and a 12% in passenger earnings.11
A new concern faced by Indian Railways is competition from low cost airlines that has recently made its début in India. In a cost cutting move, the Railways plans to minimise unwanted cessations, and scrap unpopular routes.
Current issues:
Indian railways suffers from deteriorating finances and lack the funds for future investment. Last year, India spent $28 billion, or 3.6% of GDP, on infrastructure. The main problem plaguing the Railways is the high accident rate which stands at about three hundred12 a year. 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 (83%)13 blamed for mishaps. The Konkan Railway route suffers from landslides in the monsoon season, which has caused fatal accidents in the recent past.
Contributing to the Railways' problems are the antiquated communication, safety and signaling equipment. One area of upgrading badly required is an automated signaling system to prevent crashes. A number of train accidents happened due to a manual system of signals between stations. However, the changeover to a new system would require a substantial investment. It is felt that this would be required given the gradual increase in train speeds and lengths, that would make accidents more dangerous. In the latest instances of signaling control by means of interlinked stations (e.g., Chennai - Washermanpet), failure-detection circuits are provided for each track circuit and signal circuit with notification to the signal control centres in case of problems.14 However, this is available in a very small subset of the total Railways.
Aging colonial-era bridges and century-old tracks also require regular maintenance and upgrading. In recent years Indian Railways has laid claim to a financial turnaround, with (unaudited) operating profits expected to improve by 83.7%.15 Credit for this achievement has been claimed by current Indian Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, who asserts that he made significant improvements in operating efficiency of goods traffic after he took over as Railway Minister in May 2004.16
The Rajdhani Express and Shatabadi Express are the fastest and most luxurious trains of Indian Railways, though they face new competition from air travel, as the trains travel only 80 km per hour (c.f. Fastest trains in India) and their food and service are only now being upgraded.17 To modernize Indian Rail and to bring it up to par with the developed world, would require a massive investment of about US$100 billion.18
Sixth Pay Commission has been constituted in India to review the pay structure of the Government employees and its recommendations are expected by the end of 2008 and based on its recommendations, the salaries of all Railways officers and staff are expected to be revised with retrospective effect (w.e.f. January 01, 2006). If previous Pay Commissions are taken as an indicator, this revision will not be less than 50% and it may have an impact on the Railways operating costs.
Plans to upgrade stations, coaches, tracks, services, and security are underway.19 Twenty-two of the largest stations are set for an overhaul by private contract. All meter gauge lines in the country will be converted to broad gauge. New LHB German coaches, manufactured in India, were scheduled to be introduced in 2007 on the daily run of the prestigious East Central Railway (ECR) Patna-New Delhi Radjhani Express. These coaches will enhance the safety and riding comfort of passengers, and in time will eventually replace thousands of old model coaches throughout Indian Railways. Three new manufacturing units will be set up to produce state-of-the-art locomotives and coaches.
Sanitation and the use of modern technology in that area has been a problem, but starting in 2007 chemically-treated 'green toilets', developed by IIT Kanpur, will be introduced throughout the system, trains and stations alike. This makeover is expected to take three years and cost billions. New rodent-control and cleanliness procedures are also 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 it's Mumbai division.
Base kitchens and food services across the system are also slated for a makeover, while rail ticket booking through ATMs on select trains and through cell(ular) phone SMS is being put in place. Channel music, TV screens showing the latest films, and optional menus from five-star hotels are being introduced on the Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express. A pilot project in commercial advertising on select trains is underway. More importantly, several IT initiatives are being phased in to better handle ticketing, freight, rolling stock (wagons), terminals, and rail traffic, including the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) for train tracking in real time. Upper management is also undergoing advanced training at prestigious institutions overseas to better handle change management in the system.
Contributing to the Railways' problems are the antiquated communication, safety and signaling equipment. One area of upgrading badly required is an automated signaling system to prevent crashes. A number of train accidents happened due to a manual system of signals between stations. However, the changeover to a new system would require a substantial investment. It is felt that this would be required given the gradual increase in train speeds and lengths, that would make accidents more dangerous. In the latest instances of signaling control by means of interlinked stations (e.g., Chennai - Washermanpet), failure-detection circuits are provided for each track circuit and signal circuit with notification to the signal control centres in case of problems.14 However, this is available in a very small subset of the total Railways.
Aging colonial-era bridges and century-old tracks also require regular maintenance and upgrading. In recent years Indian Railways has laid claim to a financial turnaround, with (unaudited) operating profits expected to improve by 83.7%.15 Credit for this achievement has been claimed by current Indian Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, who asserts that he made significant improvements in operating efficiency of goods traffic after he took over as Railway Minister in May 2004.16
The Rajdhani Express and Shatabadi Express are the fastest and most luxurious trains of Indian Railways, though they face new competition from air travel, as the trains travel only 80 km per hour (c.f. Fastest trains in India) and their food and service are only now being upgraded.17 To modernize Indian Rail and to bring it up to par with the developed world, would require a massive investment of about US$100 billion.18
Sixth Pay Commission has been constituted in India to review the pay structure of the Government employees and its recommendations are expected by the end of 2008 and based on its recommendations, the salaries of all Railways officers and staff are expected to be revised with retrospective effect (w.e.f. January 01, 2006). If previous Pay Commissions are taken as an indicator, this revision will not be less than 50% and it may have an impact on the Railways operating costs.
Plans to upgrade stations, coaches, tracks, services, and security are underway.19 Twenty-two of the largest stations are set for an overhaul by private contract. All meter gauge lines in the country will be converted to broad gauge. New LHB German coaches, manufactured in India, were scheduled to be introduced in 2007 on the daily run of the prestigious East Central Railway (ECR) Patna-New Delhi Radjhani Express. These coaches will enhance the safety and riding comfort of passengers, and in time will eventually replace thousands of old model coaches throughout Indian Railways. Three new manufacturing units will be set up to produce state-of-the-art locomotives and coaches.
Sanitation and the use of modern technology in that area has been a problem, but starting in 2007 chemically-treated 'green toilets', developed by IIT Kanpur, will be introduced throughout the system, trains and stations alike. This makeover is expected to take three years and cost billions. New rodent-control and cleanliness procedures are also 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 it's Mumbai division.
Base kitchens and food services across the system are also slated for a makeover, while rail ticket booking through ATMs on select trains and through cell(ular) phone SMS is being put in place. Channel music, TV screens showing the latest films, and optional menus from five-star hotels are being introduced on the Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express. A pilot project in commercial advertising on select trains is underway. More importantly, several IT initiatives are being phased in to better handle ticketing, freight, rolling stock (wagons), terminals, and rail traffic, including the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) for train tracking in real time. Upper management is also undergoing advanced training at prestigious institutions overseas to better handle change management in the system.
