Rail transport in India
| Rail transport in India | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Operation | |
| National railway | Indian Railways |
| Statistics | |
| Ridership | 8.397 billion (2014) |
| Passenger km | 1,158.7 billion (2014) |
| Freight | 106 million tonnes (2014) |
| System length | |
| Total | 68,525 kilometres |
| Electrified | 41,038 kilometres |
| Track gauge | |
| 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge | 105,000 km |
| 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3/8 in) metre gauge | 8,000 km |
| Two narrow gauges, 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) and 610 mm (2 ft) | 2,000 km |
| Features | |
| Longest tunnel | Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel (11.215 km) |
| No. bridges | 133,160 (2011) |
| Longest bridge | Vembanad Rail Bridge (4.62 km) |
| No. stations | 7,172 |
| Highest elevation | 2,257 m (7,405 ft) |
| at | Ghum on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway |
| Lowest elevation | 4 m (13 ft) |
| at | Barra Bazar |
Rail transport is commonly used mode of long-distance transport in India, especially for passenger travel. Almost all rail operations in India are handled by Indian Railways, a state-owned organization of the Ministry of Railways. As on 31 March 2015, the rail network traverses the length and breadth of the country, comprising 115,000 km of track over a route of 68,525 km and 7,172 stations. It is the fourth largest railway network in the world (after USA, Russia and China), transporting 8.397 billion passengers and over 106 million tonnes of freight annually, as of 2014. Its operations cover twenty nine states and three union territories and also provides limited service to Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Railways were introduced to India in 1853 from Mumbai to Thane, and by the time of India's independence in 1947 they had grown to forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit—Indian Railways—to form one of the largest networks in the world. The broad gauge is the majority and original standard gauge in India; more recent networks of metre and narrow gauge are being replaced by broad gauge under Project Unigauge. The steam locomotives have been replaced over the years with diesel and electric locomotives.
India has rail links with Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh and plans to install a rail system in southern Bhutan. Colour signal lights are used as signals, but in some remote areas of operation, older semaphores and disc-based signalling are still in use. Accommodation classes range from general to first class with air conditioning and trains are classified according to speed and area of operation. The ticketing system has been computerised to a large extent, and there are reserved as well as unreserved categories of tickets.
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