Indian Railways (IR) is India's national railway system operated by the Ministry of Railways.

It is
one of the public facilities given by the government and manages the fourth largest railway
network in the world by size, with a route length of 95,981-kilometre (59,640 mi) as of March
2019. About 61.62% of the routes are electrified with 25 kV 50 Hz AC electric traction while 33%
of them are double or multi-tracked.[7]
In the fiscal year ending March 2018, IR carried 8.26 billion passengers and transported
1.16 billion tonnes of freight.[2] In the fiscal year 2017–18, IR is projected to have revenue
of ₹1.874 trillion (US$26 billion), consisting of ₹1.175 trillion (US$16 billion) in freight revenue
and ₹501.25 billion (US$7.0 billion) in passenger revenue, with an operating ratio of 96.0
percent.[2]
Indian Railway (IR) runs more than 20,000 passenger trains daily, on both long-
distance and suburban routes, from 7,321 stations across India.[7] The trains have five-digit and
four-digit numbering system. Mail or Express trains, the most common types, run at an average
speed of 50.6 kilometres per hour (31.4 mph).[8] Most premium passenger trains like Rajdhani
Express and Shatabdi Express run at a peak speed of 140–150 km/h (87–93 mph) with Gatiman
Express between New Delhi and Jhansi touching a peak speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). Indian
railways also runs indigenously built semi-high speed train called Vande Bharat (also known
as Train-18)" between Delhi and Varanasi or Katra which clocks a maximum track speed of
180 km/h (110 mph). In the freight segment, IR runs more than 9,200 trains daily. The average
speed of freight trains is around 24 km/h (15 mph).[9] Maximum speed of freight trains varies from
60 to 75 km/h (37 to 47 mph) depending on their axle load with "container special" trains running
at a peak speed of 100 km/h (62 mph).
As of March 2019, Indian Railways' rolling stock consisted of 289,185 freight wagons,
55,258 passenger coaches and 12,108 Diesel and Electric locomotives.[7] IR
owns locomotive and coach-production facilities at several locations in India. Being the
world's eighth-largest employer, it had 1.227 million employees as of March 2019.[7]
The government has committed to electrify its entire rail network by 2023, and become a "net-
zero railway" by 2030.[10]

Contents

 1History
 2Organization
o 2.1Structure
o 2.2Subsidiaries and undertakings
o 2.3Human resources
 3Rolling stock
o 3.1Locomotives
o 3.2Goods wagons
o 3.3Passenger coaches
 4Manufacturing
 5Network
o 5.1Tracks
o 5.2Electrification
o 5.3Signaling and telecommunication
o 5.4Links with adjacent countries
 6Services
o 6.1Passenger service
 6.1.1Station categories
 6.1.2Travel classes
 6.1.3Train types
  6.1.4Tourism
 6.1.5Ticketing
o 6.2Freight services
o 6.3UNESCO World Heritage Sites
 7Issues
 8Future
o 8.1Infrastructure
o 8.2Electrification and power
o 8.3Safety
o 8.4Effects of COVID-19
 9Trivia
 10See also
 11Notes
 12References
 13Further reading
 14External links

History[edit]
Main article: History of rail transport in India
The first railway proposals for India were made in Madras in 1832.[11] The country's first train, Red
Hill Railway (built by Arthur Cotton to transport granite for road-building), ran from Red Hills to
the Chintadripet bridge in Madras in 1837.[11] In 1845, the Godavari Dam Construction
Railway was built by Cotton at Dowleswaram in Rajahmundry, to supply stone for the
construction of a dam over the Godavari River. In 1851, the Solani Aqueduct Railway was built
by Proby Cautley in Roorkee to transport construction materials for an aqueduct over the Solani
River.[11]
India's first passenger train, operated by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway and hauled by three
steam locomotives (Sahib, Sindh and Sultan), ran for 34 kilometres (21 mi) with 400 people in 14
carriages on 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge track between Bori Bunder (Mumbai)
and Thane on 16 April 1853.[12][13] The Thane viaducts, India's first railway bridges, were built over
the Thane creek when the Mumbai-Thane line was extended to Kalyan in May 1854.[14] Eastern
India's first passenger train ran 39 km (24 mi) from Howrah, near Kolkata, to Hoogly on 15
August 1854.[1] The first passenger train in South India ran 97 km (60 mi) from Royapuram-
Veyasarapady (Madras) to Wallajah Road (Arcot) on 1 July 1856.[15]
On 24 February 1873, a horse-drawn 3.8 km (2.4 mi) tram opened
in Calcutta between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat Street.[16] On 9 May 1874, a horse-drawn
tramway began operation in Bombay between Colaba and Parel.[17] In 1897, lighting in passenger
coaches was introduced by many railway companies. On 3 February 1925, the first electric
passenger train in India ran between Victoria Terminus and Kurla.[18]
The organization of Indian railways into regional zones began in 1951,[19] when the Southern (14
April 1951), Central (5 November 1951), and Western (5 November 1951) zones were created.
[20]
 Fans and lights were mandated for all compartments in all passenger classes in 1951, and
sleeping accommodations were introduced in coaches. In 1956, the first fully air-conditioned train
was introduced between Howrah and Delhi.[21] Ten years later, the first containerized freight
service began between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
In 1974, Indian Railways endured a 20 day strike, which damaged the nation's economy.[22][23]