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Indian Railways

Indian Railways
Native name
भारतीय रेल
Bhāratīya Rel
State-owned
Industry Railways
Founded 16 April 1853 (163 years ago) (1853-04-16)
Headquarters New Delhi, India
Area served
India
Key people
Services Passenger railways
Freight services
Parcel carrier
Catering and Tourism Services
Parking lot operations
Other related services
Revenue Increase1.683 trillion (US$25 billion) (2015–16)
Increase105.05 billion (US$1.6 billion) (2015–16)
Owner Government of India
Number of employees
1.331 million (March 2016)
Parent Ministry of Railways through Railway Board
Divisions 16 Railways Zones
Subsidiaries
Website www.indianrail.gov.in
indianrailways.gov.in
Indian Railways
Railway network schematic map.png
Schematic network map of the Indian Railways
Indian Railways Network Connectivity Map with cities and population density.png
Map of Indian Railways network with population density
Reporting mark IR
Locale India
Dates of operation 16 April 1853 (1853-04-16)–Present
Track gauge 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
1,000 mm (3 ft 3 38 in)
762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
610 mm (2 ft)
Length 66,687 kilometres (41,437 mi) (route)
92,081 kilometres (57,216 mi) (track)

Indian Railways (reporting mark IR) is a state-owned railway company, responsible for rail transport in India. It is owned and operated by the Government of India through the Ministry of Railways. It is one of the world's largest railway networks comprising 92,081 km (57,216 mi) of track over a route of 66,687 km (41,437 mi) and 7,216 stations at the end of 2015-16. In 2015-16, IR carried 8.107 billion passengers annually or more than 22 million passengers a day and 1.101 billion tons of freight annually.

Railways were first introduced to India in the year 1853 from Bombay to Thane. In 1951 the systems were nationalised 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, metre and narrow gauges. It also owns locomotive and coach production facilities at several places in India, with assigned codes identifying their gauge, kind of power and type of operation. Its operations cover twenty six states and three union territories across India, and also has international connectivity to Bangladesh (with Bangladesh Railway) and Pakistan (with Pakistan Railways).


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