Indian Railways

This article is about the organisation. For general information on railways in India, see Rail transport in India.
Indian Railways  
Type Departmental Undertaking of The Ministry of Railways, Government of India
Industry Rail transport
Founded 16 April 1857 (1857-04-16)[1]
Headquarters New Delhi, Delhi, India
Area served India
Key people Mukul Roy
(Ministry of Railways)
K. H. Muniyappa & Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki (Ministers of State)
Vivek Sahai
(Chairman, Railway Board)[2]
Products Rail transport, Cargo transport, Services, more...
Revenue 88,355 crore (US$19.7 billion) (2009-10)[3]
Net income 9,595 crore (US$2.14 billion) (2009-10)[3]
Owner(s) Republic of India (100%)
Employees 390,000 (2011)[4]
Divisions 17 Railway Zones
Website Indianrailways.gov.in

Indian Railways (Hindi: ?????? ??? Bharatiya Rail), abbreviated as IR (Hindi: ??.??.), is the central government-owned railway company of India, which owns and operates most of the country's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India.

Indian Railways has more than 64,215 kilometres (39,901 mi)[5] of track and 7,083 stations. It has the world's fourth largest railway network after those of the United States, Russia and China.[5] The railways traverse the length and breadth of the country and carry over 30 million passengers and 2.8 million tons of freight daily.[6][7] It is one of the world's largest commercial or utility employers, with more than 1.6 million employees.[6][8] As to rolling stock, IR owns over 230,000 (freight) wagons, 60,000 coaches and 9,000 locomotives.[6]

Railways were first introduced to India in 1853. By 1947, the year of India's independence, there were forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit, 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... [continues]

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