Indian Railways

Indian Railways

Rail Bhawan, the headquarters of Indian Railways
Native name	Indian Railways
Company type	Statutory Body
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	12 September 1837 (186 years ago) (1837-09-12)
Headquarters	Rail Bhawan, New Delhi , India
Area served	India
Key people	Ashwini Vaishnaw (Minister for Railways) Jaya Varma Sinha, IRTS (Chairperson and CEO)[1]
Services	Passenger railway Rail freight transport Parcel carrier Catering Tourism Parking lot operations Other related services
Revenue	₹240,000 crore (US$30 billion)[2] (2022–23)
Net income	₹4,464 crore (US$560 million)[2] (2022–23)
Owner	Ministry of Railways, Government of India
Number of employees	1,212,882[3] (31 March 2022)
Divisions	17 operational and 1 non-operational zones Southern Railway Central Railway Western Railway Eastern Railway Northern Railway North Eastern Railway South Eastern Railway Northeast Frontier Railway South Central Railway Metro Railway, Kolkata East Central Railway South East Central Railway North Western Railway East Coast Railway North Central Railway South Western Railway West Central Railway South Coast Railway [Yet to be operational]
Subsidiaries	List Braithwaite and Company Container Corporation of India Centre for Railway Information Systems Central Organisation for Railway Electrification Bhartiya Rail Bijlee Company Limited Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ircon International Konkan Railway Corporation Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited Pipavav Railway Corporation Limited Rail India Technical and Economic Service Rail Vikas Nigam RailTel
Technical
Line length	68,426.35 km (42,518.16 mi)
Track length	128,305 km (79,725 mi)
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) 610 mm (2 ft)
Electrification	62,119 km (38,599 mi)[4]
Website	www.indianrailways.gov.in

Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India that operates India's national railway system. As of 2023, it manages the fourth largest national railway system by size with a running track length of 104,647 km (65,025 mi) and route length of 68,426 km (42,518 mi) of which 60,451 km (37,563 mi) is electrified. With more than 1.2 million employees, it is the world's ninth-largest employer and India's second largest employer.

Post Indian Independence, the Indian Railways was formed by the amalgamation of 42 different railway companies operating in the Dominion of India, spanning a total of 55,000 km (34,000 mi). The railway network across the country was reorganized into six regional zones in 1951-52 for administrative purposes, which was gradually expanded to 18 zones over the years.

The first steam operated railway operated in 1837 in Madras with the first passenger operating in 1853 between Bombay and Thane. In 1925, the first electric train ran in Bombay on DC traction. The first locomotive manufacturing unit was commissioned in 1950 at Chittaranjan with the first coach manufacturing unit set-up at Madras in 1955.

Indian Railways runs various classes of express, passengers and suburban trains. In 2018–19, it operated 13,523 trains on average daily covering 7,325 stations and carried 8.44 billion passengers. Indian Railways also operates different classes of rail freight transport. In 2022–23, it operated 8,479 trains on average daily and transported 1418.1 million tonnes of freight. Indian Railways operates multiple classes of rolling stock, manufactured by self-owned coach-production facilities. As of March 2022^[update], Indian Railways' rolling stock consisted of 318,196 freight wagons and 84,863 passenger coaches. As of December 2023^[update], Indian Railways had 10,238 electric and 4,543 diesel locomotives amongst others.