Indian Railways Indian Railways is an Indian state-owned enterprise, owned and operated by the government of India through the

Ministry of Railways. It is one of the world's largest railway networks comprising 115,000 km (71,000 mi) of track over a route of 65,000 km (40,000 mi) and 7,500 stations. IR carries about 7,500 million passengers annually or more than 20 million passengers daily (more than a half of which are suburban passengers) and 2.8 million tons of freight daily. In 2011-2012 Indian Railways earned 104,278.79 crores which consists of 69,675.97 crore from freight and 28,645.52 crore from passengers tickets. Railways were first introduced to India in 1853 from Bombay to Thane. In 1951 the systems were nationalized as one unit, the Indian Railways, becoming one of the largest networks in the world. IR operates both long distance and suburban rail systems on a multi-gauge network of broad meter and narrow gauges. It also owns locomotive and coach production facilities at several places in India and are assigned codes identifying their gauge, kind of power and type of operation. Their operation covers twenty four states and three union territories and also provides limited international services to Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Indian Railways is the world's fourth largest commercial or utility employer, by number of employees, with over 1.4 million employees. As for rolling stock, IR holds over 229,381 Freight Wagons, 59,713 Passenger Coaches and 9,213 Locomotives. The trains have a 5 digit numbering system as the Indian Railways runs about 10,000 trains daily. As of 31 March 2012, 22,224 km (13,809 mi) (34%) of the total 65,000 km (40,000 mi) km route length was electrified. Since 1960, almost all electrified sections on IR uses 25,000 Volt AC traction through overhead catenary delivery. In south the first line was opened on Ist July, 1856 by the Madras Railway Company. It ran between Vyasarpadi Jeeva Nilayam (Veyasarpandy) and Walajah Road (Arcot), a distance of 63 miles. In the North a length of 119 miles of line was laid from Allahabad to Kanpur on 3rd March 1859. The first section from Hathras Road to Mathura Cantonment was opened to traffic on 19th October, 1875. Organizational chart

Minister of Railways: Shri Pawan kumar Bansal Minister of State Railways: K.J. Surya Prakash Reddy Minister of State Railways: Adhir Rajan Chowdhury Chairman Railway: Vinay Mittal Financial Commissioner : Vijaya Kanth Railway zones Indian Railways is divided into several zones, which are further sub-divided into divisions. The number of zones in Indian Railways increased from six to eight in 1951, nine in 1952 and sixteen in 2003. Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. There are a total of sixty-eight divisions. 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 and 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. Central (Mumbai), East Central (Hajipur, Bihar), East coast (Bhupaneshwar, orissa), Eastern (Kolkatta), North Central (Allahabad, UP), North Eastern (Gorakhpur), North Western (Jaipur), North Easter Frontier (Guwahati), Northern (Delhi), South Central (Secunderabad), South East Central (Bilaspur), South Eastern( Kolkata), South Western (Hubli), Southern (Chennai), Western Central (Jabalpur, MP), Western (Mumbai), Metro Railway (Kolkata). Production Units

Indian Railways manufactures much of its rolling stock and heavy engineering components at its six manufacturing plants, called Production Units, which are managed directly by the Ministry. Popular rolling stock builders such as CLW and DLW for electric and diesel locomotives; ICF and RCF for passenger coaches are Production Units of Indian Railways. Over the years, Indian Railways has not only achieved self-sufficiency in production of rolling stock in the country but also exported rolling stock to other countries. Each of these six production units is headed by a General Manager, who also reports directly to the Railway Board. The six Production Units are:-

Golden Rock Locomotive workshop (Trichy) (Diesel and Electric Locomotive) Chittranjan Locomotive Works (West Bengal) (Electric Locomotive) Diesel Locomotive works (Varanasi) Diesel Locomotive modernization works (Patiala, Punjab) Integral coach Factory (Chennai) Rail Coach Factory (Kapurthala, Punjab)

Rail Wheel Factory (Bangalore, Chhapra Bihar) Rail Coach Factory (Raebareli, UP)

Public sector units:

Bharat Wagon and Engineering Co. Ltd. (BWEL) Patna Bihar Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) develops all IT related works (New Delhi). Container Corporation of India Ltd (CONCOR) Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Indian Railway Construction International Limited (IRCON) Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (IRFC) Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) Mumbai Railway Vikaas Corporation (MRVC) Railtel Corporation of India (RailTel) Rail India Technical and Economic Service(RITES) Rail Vikaas Nigam Limited (RVNL) Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC), that has constructed and operates Delhi Metro network, is an independent organisation not connected to the Indian Railways. Similar metro rail corporations in other cities (except Kolkata Metro in Kolkata) are not connected to the Indian Railways. Tracks and gauges: Indian railways uses four gauges, the 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge which is wider than 1 3 the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 2 in) standard gauge; the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 8 in) metre gauge; and two narrow gauges, 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) and 610 mm (2 ft) . Track sections are rated for speeds ranging from 75 to 160 km/h (47 to 99 mph). Types of Passenger service Duronto Express: These are the non-stop point to point rail services (except for operational stops) introduced for the first time in 2009 . They connect the metros and major state capitals of India and are faster than Rajdhani Express. The Duronto services consists of classes of accommodation namely first AC, two-tier AC, three-tier AC, AC 3 Tier Economy, Sleeper Class, General Class. Rajdhani Express: These are all air-conditioned trains linking major cities to New Delhi. The Rajdhanis have high priority and are one of the fastest trains in India, travelling at about 130 km/h (82 mph). There are only a few stops on a Rajdhani route.Food service is also provided in these class trains

Shatabdi Express: The Shatabdi trains are AC intercity seater-type trains for travel during day. The name "Shatabdi" means centenary in Sanskrit and many other Indian languages. The first Shatabdi Express train was introduced in 1988 to commemorate the birth centenary ofJawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. [2] Sri Madhav Rao Scindia was Indian Railway Minister at that point of time and the Shatabdi Express was his

brainchild. The first Shatabdi Express was flagged off between Jhansi and New Delhi, which was later extended [3] to Bhopal. Bhopal Shatabdi Express ( / ) is a train operated by theNorthern Railway which

runs between New Delhi, the main railway station of India's capital territory, New Delhi, and Bhopal Junction the main railway station of Bhopal City, the state capital of central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. [1] The train is the fastest train in India with the top speed of 150 km/h (93 mph). The train commenced service in 1988 and was the first Shatabdi train to be introduced. The train runs at an average speed of 91 km/h (57 mph), excluding halts and touches a top speed of 152 km/h (94 mph) on the 313 km (194 mi) New DelhiGwalior stretch, which is the fastest for a train in India.

Garib Rath: Fully air conditioned trains, designed for those who cannot afford to travel in the expensive Shatabti and Rajdhani Express. Garib Rath means "Chariot of the Poor". The maximum speed is 130 km/h. Jan Shatabdi: Jan Shatabdi Express are a more affordable variety of the Shatabdi Express, which has both AC and non-AC classes. The maximum speed is 130 km/h. Sampark Kranti: Sampark Kranti Express trains are a series of trains that provide quick connectivity from a particular state to the national capital, New Delhi. Superfast: These are trains that have an average speed greater than 55 km/h (34 mph). Tickets for these trains have an additional super-fast surcharge. There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites on IR the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus and the Mountain [27] Railways of India. The latter consists of three separate railway lines located in different parts of India: Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a narrow gauge railway in West Bengal. Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a metre gauge railway in the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu. Kalka-Shimla Railway, a narrow gauge railway in the Shivalik mountains in Himachal Pradesh. In 2003 the railway was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for offering the steepest rise in altitude in [28] the space of 96 kilometre. Maharaja Railways (Gwalior Light Railway), a narrow gauge line of just 610mm width fromGwalior to Sheopur of 198 km. in length is world's longest narrow gauge railway line is in the UNESCO world heritage tentative list. Neral-Matheran Railway, a narrow gauge railway connecting Matheran is also a historic line. Palace on Wheels is a specially designed train, frequently hauled by a steam locomotive, for promoting tourism in Rajasthan. On the same lines, the Maharashtra government introduced theDeccan Odyssey covering various tourist destinations in Maharashtra and Goa, and was followed by the Government of Karnataka which introduced the Golden Chariot train connecting popular tourist destinations in Karnataka andGoa. However, neither of them has been able to enjoy the popular success of the Palace on Wheels. 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 connectingKhokhrapar (Pakistan) and Munabao (India) is the Thar Express that restarted operations on 18 February 2006; it was earlier closed down after the 1965 Indo-Pak war. 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
[26]

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 operating locomotive in the world today, though it is operated only for specials between Delhi and Alwar. John Bull, a locomotive older than Fairy Queen, operated in 1981 commemorating its 150th anniversary.Kharagpur railway station also has the distinction of being the world's longest railway platform at 1,072 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 [29] locomotive. The MumbaiPune Deccan Queen has the oldest running dining car in IR. Vivek Express, between Dibrugarh andKanyakumari, has the longest run in terms of distance and time on Indian Railways network. It covers 4,286 km (2,663 mi) in about 82 hours and 30 minutes. Himsagar Express, between Kanyakumari andJammu Tawi, has the second longest run in terms of distance and time on Indian Railways network. It covers 3,715 km (2,308 mi) in about 69 hours and 30 minutes. TheBhopal Shatabdi Express is the fastest train in India today having a maximum speed of 150 km/h (93 mph) on the FaridabadAgra section. The fastest speed attained by any train is 184 km/h (114 mph) in 2000 during test runs. The third longest train in terms of distance on Indian Railways network is navyug express between jammu tawi to mangalore covering a distance of 3609 k.m Trivandrum Rajdhani is the longest non stop train in on Indian Railways network covering 528 km

Double-decker AC trains have been introduced in India. The first double decker train was Flying Rani introduced in 2005 while the first double-decker AC train in the Indian Railways was introduced in November [30] 2010, running between the Dhanbad and Howrah stations having 10 coaches and 2 power cars.

Longest Railway Bridge in India

Nehru Setu Bridge near Dehri on the river Sone is the longest railway bridge in India. The bridge is near Sasaram on Kolkata-Delhi Line. It is 3.065km long and has 93 spans of 30.5m each. Next to Nehru Setu is the Narnarayan Setu bridge over the Brahmaputra. The bridge links Jogighopa to Pancharatna (in Assam). It has a total length of 2.3km and has 18 spans, each about 120m, with 2 spans of 30.5m. The bridge over Ganga near Patna is 2km long.

Longest Railway Platform in India

The platform of Kharagpur Railway Station is the longest railway platform in India. The length of the Kharagpur Railway platform is 1072.5m. The platform was originally 716m long. It's length was extended twice, once to 833m and then to its present length. Excluding subway platforms (the Chicago subway has the longest one), Kharagpur has the longest railway platform in the world. Kharagpur is located in the Midnapore West district of the state of West Bengal. It is famous as the place where the first Indian Institute of Technology was established. Kharagpur also has one of the biggest railway workshops in India. First Passenger Train Ran On: 16th April 1853 (between Bombay to Thane) First Railway Bridge: Dapoorie Viaduct on the Mumbai-Thane route First Rail Tunnel: Parsik Tunnel

First Ghats Covered by Rail Lines: Thal and Bhore Ghats First Underground Railway: Calcutta METRO First Computerized Reservation System Started In: New Delhi (1986) First Electric Train Ran On: 3rd Feb' 1925 (between Bombay VT and Kurla) Toilets on Trains Introduced In: 1891 (1st Class) & 1907 (lower classes) Shortest Station Name: Ib (Orissa) Longest Station Name: Sri Venkatanarasimharajuvariapeta (Tamil Nadu) Busiest Railway Station: Lucknow (64 trains everyday) Longest Run (Time): Dibrugarh Town - Kanyakumari Vivek Express (4286km in 82:30 hours) Shortest Run: Route between Nagpur and Ajni (3km) Longest Run for Daily Train: Kerala Express (3054 km in 42.5 hrs) Longest Non-Stop Run (Distance): Trivandrum Rajdhani (528 km in 6.5 hrs) Longest Railway Platform in the World: Kharagpur (2,733 ft in length) Longest Railway Bridge: Nehru Setu on Sone River (10044ft in length) Longest Tunnel: Karbude Tunnel of the Konkan Railway (6.5 km) Oldest Preserved Locomotive: Fairy Queen (1855), still in working order Gauges of Track: 4 Gauges; BG (5'6"), MG (1 metre), NG (2) IR Daily Runs: About 14,000 trains IR Daily Carries: More than 11 million passengers & 1 million tonnes of freight IR's Only Line with Rack & Pinion System: From Mettupalayam to Conoor IR's Fastest Train: Bhopal-Shatabdi (runs at a speed up to 140 Km/ph) Railway Station with all the Three Gauges: Siliguri Railway Station Route Kilometers of Track: More than 62,000 kms People Employed in IR: About 1.6 million people Train with Maximum Number of Halts: Howrah-Amritsar Express (115 halts) Trains without Commercial Halts: Sampoorna Kranti Express, Howrah Rajdhani, Bombay Rajdhani, Pragati Express and Pune Shatabdi Stations across State Lines: Navapur (Maharashtra and Gujarat), Bhawani Mandi (Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan) Classes of Travel on Indian Railway: Ist AC, 2nd AC, 3rd AC, AC Chair Car 2nd sleeper & 2nd ordinary

KNOW ABOUT INDIAN RAILWAYS Indian Railways, a historical legacy, are a vital force in our economy. The first railway on Indian sub-continent ran from Bombay to Thane on 16th April 1853. Fourteen railway carriages carried about 400 guests from Bombay to Thane covering a distance of 21 miles (34 Kilometers). Since then there has been no looking back. Today, it covers 6,909 stations over a total route length of more than 63,028 kilometres. The track kilometers in broad gauge (1676 mm) are 86, 526 kms, meter gauge (1000 mm) are 18, 529 kms and narrow gauge (762/610 mm) are 3,651 kms. Of the total route of 63,028 kms, 16,001 kms are electrified. The railways have 8000 locomotives, 50,000 coaching vehicles, 222,147 freight wagons, 6853 stations, 300 yards, 2300 goodsheds, 700 repair shops, and 1.54 million work force. Indian Railways runs around 11,000 trains everyday, of which 7,000 are passenger trains. Presently, 9 pairs of Rajdhani and 13 pairs of Shatabdi Express Trains run on the rail tracks of India. It is interesting to note that though the railways were introduced to facilitate the commercial interest of the British, it played an important role in unifying the country. Railways are ideally suited for long distance travel and movement of bulk commodities. Regarded better than road transport in terms of energy efficiency, land use, environment impact and safety it is always in forefront during national emergency. Indian railways, the

largest rail network in Asia and the world's second largest under one management are also credited with having a multi gauge and multi traction system. The Indian Railways have been a great integrating force for more than 150 years. It has helped the economic life of the country and helped in accelerating the development of industry and agriculture. Indian Railways is known to be the largest railway network in Asia. The Indian Railways network binds the social, cultural and economical fabric of the country and covers the whole of country ranging from north to south and east to west removing the distance barrier for its people. The railway network of India has brought together the whole of country hence creating a feeling of unity among Indians. Organization Overview The Ministry of Railways under Government of India controls Indian Railways. The Ministry is headed by Union Minister who is generally supported by a Minster of State. The Railway Board consisting of six members and a chairman reports to this top hierarchy. The railway zones are headed by their respective General Mangers who in turn report to the Railway Board. For administrative convenience Indian Railways is primarily divided into 16 zones: Railway Zone Headquarters Central Railway Mumbai CST Eastern Railway Kolkata Northern Railway New Delhi North Eastern Railway Gorakhpur North East Frontier Railway Maligaon, Guwahati Southern Railway Chennai South Central Railway Secunderabad Western Railway Church Gate, Mumbai South East Central Railway Bilaspur East Coast Railway Bhubaneswar North Central Railway Allahabad North Western Railway Jaipur South Western Railway Hubli West Central Railway Jabalpur East Central Railway HajipurThe Ministry of Railways has following nine undertakings: 1. Rail India Technical & Economic Services Limited (RITES) 2. Indian Railway Construction (IRCON) International Limited

3. Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (IRFC) 4. Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR) 5. Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) 6. Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) 7. Railtel Corporation of India Ltd. (Rail Tel) 8. Mumbai Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (MRVNL) 9. Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL) Indian Railways have their research and development wing in the form of Research, Designs and Standard Organization (RDSO). RDSO functions as the technical advisor and consultant to the Ministry, Zonal Railways and Production Units. Railway Budget Since 1924-25, railway finances have been separated from General Revenue. Indian railways have their own funds in the form of Railway Budget presented to the Parliament annually. This budget is presented to the Parliament by the Union Railway Minster two days prior to the General Budget, usually around 26th February. It has to be passed by a simple majority in the Lok Sabha before it gets final acceptance. Indian Railways are subject to the same audit control as other government revenues and expenditure. Passenger Traffic The passenger traffic has risen from leaps and bounds from 1284 million in 1950-51 to 5112 million in 20022003. Freight Traffic The revenue fright traffic has also grown immensely from 73.2 million tones in 1950-51 to 557.39 million tones. Indian railways carry huge variety of goods such as mineral ores, fertilizers, petrochemicals, agricultural produce and others. It has been made possible with measures such as line capacity augmentation on certain critical sectors and modernization of signaling system and increase in roller bearing equipped wagons. Indian Railways make huge revenue and most of its profits are from the freight sector and uses these profits to augment the lossmaking passenger sector. Here, it is important to note that computerization of freight operations --Freight Operations Information System (FOIS) has been achieved with the implementation of Rake Management System. Facilities for Passengers Computer based unreserved ticketing takes care of the large chunk of unreserved segment of passengers. This facility allows issuance of unreserved tickets from locations other than boarding station. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation IRCTC has launched on line ticketing facility with the aid of Center for Railway Information System, which can be booked on www. irctc.co.in. For the convenience of customers queries related to accommodation availability, passenger status, train schedule etc are can all be addressed online. Computerized reservation facilities have made the life easy of commuters across India. National Train Enquiry system is another initiative of Indian Railways which offers train running position on a current basis through various output devices such as terminals in the station enquiries and Interactive Voice Response Systems ( IVRS) at important railway stations. Indian Railways are committed to provide improved telecommunication system to its passengers. For

this Optical Fibre Communication (OFC) system has been embraced, which involves laying optical fibre cable along the railway tracks. In recent years Indian Railways have witnessed the marked rise of collaboration between private and public sectors. Few of the notable examples here are the broad gauge connectivity to Pipya Port where a joint venture company is formed with Pipava Port authority. Similarly Memorandums of Understanding has been signed between Railways and State governments of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand, Rolling Stock Today, Indian Railways have become self reliant in production of rolling stock. It supplies rolling stock to other countries and non-railway customers. The production units are at Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi, Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Chittaranjan, Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works, Patiala, Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, Wheel & Axle Plant, Bangalore and Rail Spring Karkhana, Gwalior. Special Trains Indian Railways have several special trains, which are known across the world such as Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Palace on Wheels, Samjhauta Express, Express, Fairy Queen, Himsagar Express and others. Lifeline Darjeeling Himalayan Railways, running from New

Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling, a hill station at an elevation of 2134 meters has attained the World Heritage Status from UNESCO. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is credited with being only rack railway in India. 'Palace on Wheels' gives you the experience of a royalty. The train passes through following destinations. Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Sawai Madhopur, Chittaurgarh,Udaipur, Bharatpur and Agra. While Fairy Queen, the oldest functioning steam engine has received Heritage Award at the international Tourist Award apart from finding a place in Guinness Book of World Records. Suburban Railway Cities in India such as Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, and Lucknow have dedicated suburban networks while Hyderabad and Pune share the tracks with long distance trains. The passenger traffic in suburban trains is handled mostly by electric multiple units. The Mumbai Suburban Railway spread over 303-route kms carries more than 6.1 million commuters daily. It is one of the most intensively utilized public transportation in the world. Kolkata metro is the first underground rapid transit system in India, which began operations in 1984. The line begins at Dum Dum in the north and continues till the southern end in Tollygunge. Delhi metro, started in Dec 2002, is the second underground rapid transit system in India. Delhi Metro combines elevated, at-grade and underground lines. The Phase 1 of the network consists of 65.11 kms of route length with 13,01 kms underground called Metro corridor and 52.10 kms surface elevated called Rail Corridor. Phase II is presently under construction, with a target completion date of 2010. National Vikas Yogna The government of India has initiated a scheme, 'National Vikas Yojna' for the development of the Indian Railways. The scheme would focus on completion on strategic projects within a stipulated period of time. The key projects under this scheme are: Strengthening of Golden Quadrilateral and Diagonals connecting the 4 metro cities i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Providing Rail based port-connectivity and development of corridors to hinterland including multi-modal corridors for movement of containers. Construction of 4 mega bridges at Patna and Munger on river Ganga, at Bogibeel on river Brahmputra and at Nirmali on river Kosi. Indian Railways Objectives in 2008

Indian Railways created a history by generating a cash surplus before dividend of Rs 20,000 cr as against Rs 14,700 cr in the previous year. The Passenger earnings have increased by 14 percent while coach earnings have shown a rise of 48 percent. A quantum jump in freight business is another highlight of the year. For the year 2007-2008 Construction of High Speed Passenger Corridors have been proposed. The corridors would have state of the art signaling and train control systems, for running high speed trains at speeds of 300 to 350 kms per hour; one each in the Northern, Western, Southern and Eastern regions of the country. The trains will cover distance distances of up to 600 kms in two to three hours. Private Public Partnership would be considered for High-speed corridors. Steps would be taken to improve the suburban services in cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. Mumbai MUTP-Phase I will be completed and the work on MUTP Phase II would be started. Suggestions have been made to introduce airconditioned class services in suburban trains in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and escalators at major stations. The railway minister has proposed to use more IT services in the railways which would help in increasing passenger and freight earnings, reduce operating costs, ensure effective utilization of human and physical resources. ERP packages would be implemented in workshops, production units and selected zonal railways. Gauge Conversion, Rolling Stock Modernization and Capacity Augmentation are the other aspects in the to do list of the Indian Railways. The year 2007 will be celebrated as cleanliness year where efforts would be ensured to maintain cleanliness and hygiene at station premises in passenger trains, railway lines, waiting rooms etc. Interesting Facts about Indian Railways Shortest station name: Ib near Jharsuguda on the Howrah-Nagpur main line (South Eastern Railway. Longest station name: Venkatanarasimharajuvariapeta often prefixed with Sri. on the Arakkonam-Renigunta section of the Southern Railway. Longest run (time): The Himsagar Express running between Jammu Tawi and Kanyakumari, It covers its route of 3751km in 74 hours and 55 minutes. Longest run for daily train: The Kerala Express has daily service and covers 3054 km in its run (in 42.5 hours). Longest non-stop run (distance): The Trivandrum Rajdhani does not have a technical halt at Ratlam and, therefore, travels non-stop between Vadodara and Kota (528km), covering the stretch in about 6.5 hours. Trains with no commercial halts en route: Sampoorna Kranti Exp,Howrah Rajdhani, Bombay Rajdhani, Pragati Exp and Pune Shatabdi Shortest runs: Nagpur - Ajni has scheduled services that are just 3km in distance. This is mainly a service for crew to travel from Nagpur station to the workshop at Ajni. Highest number of halts: Mail and Express trains [3/99] The Howrah-Amritsar Exp. leads in this category with 115 halts. Busiest Station: Lucknow which caters to as many as 64 trains per day. Stations straddling state lines: Navapur is a station that is half in Maharashtra and half in Gujarat . Bhawani Mandi station, on the Shamgarh-Kota section of the Bombay-Delhi line is half in Madhya Pradesh and half in Rajasthan. Station with all the three gauges: Siliguri station.

Indian Railways Bottlenecks Indian Railways require finance for modernization however the required budgetary support is absent. For example, the provision of automated signaling system to prevent the crashes is missing. The stiff competition between private airlines has brought serious threat on upper class passengers of the railways. Though Rajdhanai and Shatabadi trains are the fastest and luxurious trains of India their speed and food service is not competitive as compared to the air travel. The other key problem faced by the Indian Railways is the high accident rate, which includes derailment, collisions, many being run over by trains. The earlier pay commission (in the years 1986 & 1996) recommendations had badly hit the bottom lines of the Railways and other Government Departments. The recommendations of sixth pay commission are expected by the end of 2008, which might make Indian railways go red again.

World Trains & Networks: