An Introduction to the Indian Railways

The Indian Railways (IR) is the world's largest railway system under single management and the largest employer in the world with approx. 1.4 million employees. India's as well as Asia's first train steamed off from Mumbai (erstwhile Bombay) to Thane on April 16th, 1853 covering a distance of 34 kms. India's railway network grew rapidly to encompass a pan-Indian network of almost 40,000 km's.

IR carried approx. 20.9 million passengers (booked) on a daily average in the Apr-May '10, half of which was non-suburban passenger traffic. IR's vast rail network (fourth largest in the world) encompasses 63,327 route kilometers covering 7,068 stations and served by 9,000 passenger trains. 17,811 route kilometers (26 %) have been electrified. Freight carried amounted to 834 million tons in 2008-09. The main commodities handled by IR during 2005-06 include coal (294 mt), raw materials for steel plants (51 mt incl. 17.7 mt of iron and steel), cement (61 mt), oil and lubricants or POL (33 mt), fertilizers (33 mt) and foodgrains (42 mt). IR's gross receipts amounted to Rs 744 billion in 2006-07, i.e. approx. USD 18.5 billion. IR's passenger reservation system is the largest of its kind in the world. IR's has budgeted over Rs 200 bn for new infrastructural investments incl. new rolling stock, track renewal, track electrification, track doubling and gauge conversions (mainly to broad gauge) for fiscal 2008-09. 43 new trains will be introduced in 2009-10. IR's plan outlay for 2009-10 amounts to Rs 375 bn (ca USD 7½ bn).

IR's e-ticketing service is available for all Superfast, Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi Express and Rajdhani trains.

Indian Railways had till recently faced increased competition from low-cost airlines that were luring mainly first class passengers to shift to air travel. As a countermeasure, AC First fares were substantially lowered. Although Indian passenger trains are relatively slow in general, a few exceptions do exist. India's fastest train, the New Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi Express, attains a maximum speed of 150 km/h on certain stretches between Delhi and Agra. Rajdhani trains also attain speeds of upto 130 km/h on certain sections. There are plans to introduce modern high-speed trains on certain sections of the network in the future.

India's longest scheduled single continous train journey can be experienced on the weekly Himsagar Express, connecting Kanyakumari (southern tip of India) with Jammu Tawi (Jammu & Kashmir). The route distance is 3,751 km's covered in 73 hours. Ticket fares range from around USD 11 for sleeper class accomodation to USD 43 for First Class accomodation. IR has introduced fully airconditioned but affordable Garib Rath trains on selected routes medium/long distance routes. Fares on these trains are about 25 per cent lower than comparable AC 3-tier fares.

Indian Railways operates on three gauges: broad gauge (1.676 m), meter gauge (1.000 m) and narrow gauge (0.762 m and 0.610 m). All major routes are served by broad gauge (49,820 route kilometers). Narrow gauge rails are used on 2,886 route kilometers.

The Indian Railways Official Website

Ministry of Railways Website

Trains At a Glance (timetables)

Indian Railways Catering And Tourism Corp.

Online rail booking facilities

Train Running Information

Network Map of the Indian Railways

Accomodation Classes

August Kranti Rajdhani Express (old rake) whizzes past Bharatpur Junction (Rajasthan) - © Timir Mozumder

The daily August Kranti Rajdhani Express runs daily from Mumbai to Delhi and nowadays its locomotives pull new Alstom-LHB coaches with the familiar red coloured livery, albeit more modern. Alstom-LHB coaches are also used on the Howrah and Mumbai Rajdhani expresses. Alstom-LHB coaches are mainly used in select Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains.

Howrah Rajdhani pulling in to Howrah Station by KolkataMusing

A Howrah Rajdhani (Alstom-LHB coaches) pulling into Howrah station, Kolkata's main long-distance train terminus. Two daily Rajdhani trains connect Kolkata with Delhi: The Sealdah Rajdhani runs via Gaya and the Howrah Rajdhani via Gaya or Patna (Sundays only).

Mumbai Rajdhani Express (Departure - New Delhi Railway Station) by Sameer7678

A train pulls in to Bharatpur Junction Station (Rajasthan) - © Timir Mozumder

Bilaspur Junction Station (Chhattisgarh) - © Timir Mozumder

Indian Railways Zones

Zone	Headquarters	Freight Carried in Million Tons (2004-05)	Passengers (2004-05)
Central Railway	Mumbai (Chhatrapati Shivaji)	42.98
Eastern Railway	Kolkata	46.95¹
East Central	Hazipur	58.26
South East Central	Bilaspur	92.52
West Central	Jabalpur	19.97
North Central	Allahabad	5.43
East Coast	Bhubaneswar	70.46
Konkan Railway Corp. Ltd.	Navi Mumbai
Northern	New Delhi	41.4
North Eastern	Gorakhpur	2.06
North Western	Jaipur	9.05
Northeast Frontier	Maligaon-Guwahati	9.94
Southern Railway	Chennai	27.4¹	511¹
South Central Railway	Secunderabad	51
South Eastern	Kolkata	85.86¹	157.6
South Western	Hubli	31.75
Western Railway	Mumbai (Churchgate)	28.35

¹2005-06

Rail Museums

Howrah Rail Museum Photo Gallery >>

National Rail Museum Photo Gallery >>

Railway Books

Below is a small selection of Indian railway books available at Amazon.co.uk. If you wish to order any of these then just click on the bookcover image to proceed with your online order.

The Imperial Way: Making Tracks from Peshawar to Chittagong >>

Paul Theroux's illustrated book on various train trips in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Although a bit dated (published in 1985) it is still a very enjoyable book with many fascinating photographs and essays.

Indian Narrow Gauge Steam Remembered >>

Indian Locomotives: Broad Gauge, 1851-1940 >>

Indian Railway related books available at Amazon.co.uk >>

Railway Videos

Indian Railway videos are rare but I have collected a few high quality and interesting ones available through Amazon.co.uk. Just click on the product image you wish to order.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DVD Region 0)

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, A Journey to the Rooftop of the World DVD features the famous Darjeeling "Toy Train". In addition to a 79 min professionally filmed (various angles) video, the DVD includes a fascinating narration by Sherab Tenduf and five extra clips of the train in action, three slide shows and historical photographic scenes. A must buy for any steam engine buff!

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (VHS PAL)

National Geographic Video - The Great Indian Railway (1995)

Although this video is a bit outdated it depicts wonderfully the significance of the railways on networking the vast country that India is. Many different aspects and facets of the gigantic railway web are shown in this 115 min video.

Great Railway Journeys Of The World - India

This rail video, written and presented by Brian Thompson, takes the armchair traveller on a one hour rail journey from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus to the steamy South including Bangalore, Mysore, Ooty and Kochi. Although this video was released in 1997 it was actually shot in 1987. All in all a very enjoyable rail journey.

Commuter Rail, Subway, Light Rail Networks

Mumbai Railway Vikas Corp. Ltd.

The world's busiest (6.1 million commuters/day) commuter rail system.

Kolkata Metro Railway

Kolkata metro - Passengers ready to board an arriving metro train at Dum Dum station, the northern terminus of the north-south line. The ground-level station is adjacent to the suburban rail platforms of the station connected via a pedestrian tunnel.

India's first underground rail system became operation on Oct 24 1984 with the opening of a 3.4 km section. The line was gradually extended to its present length of 22.4 kms in Aug 2009. The north-south line connects Dum Dum (near the airport) with Garia Bazar located in southern Kolkata. The 8.7 km long, mostly elevated southern extension upto New Garia is partly under construction. A 5.9 km section connecting Tollygunge (now renamed as Mahanayak Uttam Kumar) station with Garia Bazar (renamed as Kavi Nazrul) station was opened on Aug 21 '09. Over 400,000 daily passengers use the metro on weekdays.

Construction of the long-awaited second line (project value ca Rs 50 bn) with a total length of 14.7 kms connecting Howrah Maidan and Bidhannagar Sector V (a hub for IT/technology companies) began in 2009. Plans are to interconnect the East-West Corridor line with the existing north-south line at the Central metro station. The line would also facilitate a convenient link connecting Kolkata's two busy rail terminals, Howrah and Sealdah. Half of the proposed 12 stations would be underground while the other six would be elevated stations. The line is projected to be operational by the end of 2014. 8.9 kms of the line would be underground. Surface transport would be unobstructed due to the use of tunnel boring machinery. The underground section of the present metro line was constructed using the cut and cover method. A 7+ km elevated line connecting Central Park in Bidhannagar (Salt Lake) with the new terminal coming up at NSCB airport is being planned.

Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC)>>

Frontline's article on the Kolkata Metro>>

Kolkata Metro train pulling out of a downtown Kolkata station - © Timir Mozumder

Kolkata Metro train - © Timir Mozumder

Kolkata Light Rail Transit System

An LRTS project with an aim to connect Joka (south of Kolkata) via Esplanade (central Kolkata) with Barrackpore (north of Kolkata) covering a distance of 40 kms was formally launched in Feb '09. The line is expected to be implemented in two phases over a period of 4-5 years from the commencement of construction. The project will be implemented through a joint-venture consortium (West Bengal Government and SREI International and a technical partner from the Czech Republic) special purpose vehicle christened Kolkata Mass Rapid Transit Pvt. Ltd.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation

Delhi Metro - Line 2 underground section. 99 trains (280 coaches), each of which can carry upto 1,300 passengers (dense crush load), run from 6 AM to 11 PM. Ridership on weekdays has increased to 1.05 million and is projected to reach 2.5 million by 2011.

The first 22 km line (mostly elevated) of the Phase I (three lines) network was partially opened in December 2002 and runs now from Rithala, crossing the Yamuna river to Shadhara in East Delhi. The 11 km second line, from Vishwavidyalaya to Central Secretariat via Kashmere Gate and Old Delhi Railway Station is fully underground and was extended by 6.36 km (5 stations) extension to Jehangirpuri in north Delhi. The third line (Blue line), the longest of the current three lines at 32 stations and 34 route kms, runs from Yamuna Bank in East Delhi to the western suburb of Dwarka (Sector 9). Extension work (2.8 kms) on line three upto Sector 21 Dwarka will be completed by Sept. 2010. Furthermore, this line will be extended to the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The metro currently comprises of three lines totalling 110 route kms and 97 stations.

A highspeed airport express rail link (top speed 135 km/h) from New Delhi station to Dwarka Sector 21 via Delhi's IGI airport is projected to be operational by Sept 2010. The 22.7 km (15.7 km underground and 7 km elevated) line will feature six stations, two of which will have baggage check-in facilities.

Phase II is comprises of 127 km's of route length. One of the new lines will be extended to the burgeoning satellite city of Gurgaon in neighbouring Haryana (scheduled to be opened in June 2010 encompassing 10 stations on a stretch of 14.5 kms) and another to the trans-Yamuna growth city of Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Delhi Metro ridership has risen to approx. 1,050,000 on weekdays). A 193 km network incl. 137 stations is expected to be ready before the Commonwealth Games to be held in Oct. 2010.
DMRC has ordered 424 Bombardier MOVIA metro cars the first of which were airlifted from Germany to Delhi.

Delhi Metro Line 2 - © Timir Mozumder

Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS)

The 8.6 km MRTS line is partly elevated (5.8 km) and compliments the suburban rail network of Chennai. Phase II (Thirumalai-Velachery) of the line is now open extending the line by 11 kms. The line extends from Chennai Beach to Velachery with trains running at 15 min intervals. A 5 km extension upto St. Thomas Mount has been proposed. The Thirumalai-Tiruvamniyur section has been commissioned.

Chennai Metro Rail

Hyderabad Metro Rail

Hyderabad Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS)

Bangalore Metro Rail Corp.

The proposed Rs 64 bn Bangalore metro system would comprise of two lines totalling 42.3 kms (East-West 18.1 km and North-South 14.9 km). Of this, 6.7 km would be underground. Both the lines are expected to be completed by March 2013. The first phase could be operational by end 2010 including the stretch from Byappanahalli to M.G. Road.

Mumbai Metro

Phase I of the Mumbai metro project includes the construction of three lines:
1) An 11.4 km elevated metro rail link featuring 12 stations incl. one close to Sahar airport. The line was contracted to Reliance Energy and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and will be routed from Versova to Ghatkopar via Andheri. The line is projected to be ready by the end of 2010. Construction of this line is underway. A Chinese company, namely Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Works, will supply 16 trains to be operated on the line.
2) The second line planned (line length: 31.9 km with 27 stations) in the first phase would connect the northern suburb of Charkop with Mankhurd via Bandra.
3) A 19 km third line linking Colaba (southern tip of Mumbai) with Bandra (new growing commercial hub) via Mahim.
The first phase is expected to be ready within 6 years from start of construction. Nine lines (146.5 route km) have been planned in the metro master plan to be completed by 2021 in three phases.

India's erstwhile tram networks.

Although trams exist only in Kolkata at present quite a few Indian cities had tram service in the past.

Calcutta Tramways

Kolkata tram - © Timir Mozumder

Kolkata Trams 2007 trailer by PMPvideo DVD

Konkan Railway Corp. Ltd.

Sky Bus Metro

A rail based mass transit system developed in India not yet in commercial use.

Delhi Monorail

A proposed pilot 15 km monorail route is under study and if implemented would provide feeder service to the Delhi Metro system. Monorail Malaysia Technology Sdn Bhd and Ircon International Ltd have signed a MoU to undertake a feasibility study.

Hyderabad Metro

A three line 60 km metro rail network has been planned for Hyderabad which is one the most polluted cities in the world. While according to WHO a SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter measured in Micrograms/m3) level of 30 is acceptable, Hyderabad averages SPM levels of 700. The cost of the metro project has been estimated to be approx. Rs 80 bn.

Mumbai Monorail

A 100 km monorail network has been planned for Mumbai. The first phase (a 19.54 km long line connecting Gadge Maharaj Chowk with Chembur station) has been awarded to the L&T/Scomi Engineering led consortium.

Other Rail Related Links

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited

IRFCA (Indian Railways Fan Club Association)

Railway Budget 2006-07

National Rail Museum

Indian Steam Railway Society

Central Organisation for Railway Electrification

Indian Railway Equipment Manufacturers

Titagarh Wagons Ltd., Titagarh/Uttarpara (West Bengal)

Bombardier Transportation India Ltd., Savli near Vadodara (Gujarat)

Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), Chittaranjan (W.B)

Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), Varanasi (U.P)

Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Perambur (Tamil Nadu)

Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala (Punjab)

Bharat Heavy Electicals Ltd. (BHEL)

Jessop & Co. Ltd, Kolkata

Manufactures EMU's (Electric Multiple Units), a variety of wagons, tram cars etc.

Bharat Earth Movers Ltd., Bangalore

Manufactures rail coaches

Wheel And Axle Plan, Bangalore

Diesel Loco Modernisation Works, Patiala

Railtel Corp. of India Ltd.

Rail Wheel Factory - Yelahanka (Karnataka)

Research and Development

RDSO Research, Designs & Standards Organisation

Mountain Trains

Darjeeling Himalaya Railway

A narrow gauge toy train connecting New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling.

The Darjeeling toy train at New Jalpaiguri ready to embark on its 6½ hr journey to Darjeeling - © Timir Mozumder

World Heritage Tour panographies >>
NHK World Heritage video >>

Darjeeling toy train loco at New Jalpaiguri

Kalka-Shimla

This 96 km long narrow gauge rail line was built in 1903 requiring a lot engineering skills. The longest of the 103 tunnels found on this line is over 1.1 km long at an altitude of 1500 meters.

Nilgiri Mountain Train

Nilgiri Mountain Train (or Blue Mountain) connects Mettupalayam with Udhagamandalam (Ooty) traversing a distance of 45.88 km on a metre gauge rail track . A special rack and pinion system (the only one of its kind in India) keeps the train from slipping down and negotiate the steep gradient while moving up.

Neral - Matheran

Neral, situated 96 km from Mumbai, is the starting point for the two foot gauge rail track toy train to the renowned hill station of Matheran (alt. 2650 ft).

Special Tourist Trains

The Golden Chariot

A luxury train that covers major sights of Karnataka including stops at Bangalore, Mysore, Kabini, Hassan, Hampi and neighbouring Goa.

Heritage on Wheels

A meter gauge luxury train that covers the Rajasthani destinations of Jaipur, Bikaner, Tal Chhapar amd Shekhawati

Palace on Wheels

Route: Delhi-Jaipur-Chittaurgarh-Udaipur-Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Bharatpur-FatehpurSikri-Agra-Delhi

The Royal Orient train

The Royal Orient covers many interesting points in Rajasthan and Gujarat during the seven day journey departing from Delhi.

Fairy Queen

The Fairy Queen locomotive, manufactured in 1855, is probably the oldest running steam loco in the world. The route covers Delhi and Alwar, including nearby Sariska Tiger Reserve

Deccan Odyssey

A Luxury tourist train service covering the following route: Mumbai-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg-Goa-Pune-Aurangabad-Nashik-Mumbai

Copyright Timir Mozumder 1996-2010 

Updated 15 Jun 2010