Rail transport in India
The Indian Railways (abbreviated IR) is the state-owned national railway network of India. It is one of the largest and busiest rail networks on the planet, transporting 4.2 billion (4.2 x 109) people and over 300 million tons of freight on 100,000 kilometres of track each year. The Indian Railways is also the world's largest commercial or utility employer, having more than 1.6 million regular employees on its rolls. The Indian Railways as such came into existence in the 1890s through the consolidation of state-owned railways during the British Raj.
History and overview
The Indian Railways operates a great diversity of rail systems, from long-distance diesels carrying freight to short-distance electric suburban trains and rail lines serving rural areas that still contain a large part of the Indian population. This rail net provides a boon to tourists who, by using its trains, get a more complete view of India.
Geography and infrastructure
Zones
The nine current zones are:
Seven new proposed zones are:
- South Western Railway (SWR)
- North Western Railway (NWR)
- West Central Railway (WCR)
- North Central Railway (NCR)
- South East Central Railway (SECR)
- East Coast Railway (ECoR)
- East Central Railway (ECR)
The Konkan Railway (KR) is a separately incorporated railway that operates along the Konkan coast.
The Calcutta Metro is owned and operated by IR, but does not belong to any of the zones; it is administratively considered to have the status of a zonal railway.
Statistics
- World's 5th largest rail network, with route length of 63,518 km (2002).
- World's largest rail network under a single management.
- 300 storage and maintenance yards.
- 2,300 warehouses.
- 700 repair shops.
- 8,300 locomotives.
- 39,000 passenger coaches.
- 350,000 freight wagons.
