Indian Railway : In Detail

Indian Railway

The first train ran from Mumbai to Thane in 1853, covering a distance of 34 km. The first railway on Indian sub-continent ran over a distance of 21 miles from Bombay to Thane. The idea of a railway to connect Bombay with Thane, Kalyan and with the Thal and Bhore Ghats was first approached by Mr. George Clark, the Chief Engineer of the Bombay Government, during a visit to Bhandup in 1843.

History of Indian Railway

1. The history of Indian railway began in the mid of 19^th In 1844, the Governor-General of India Lord Hardinge allowed private entrepreneurs to set up a rail system in India.

• Indian Railways is divided into 17 zones, which are further sub-divided into divisions.

2. The number of zones in Indian Railways increased from six to eight in 1951, nine in 1966 and sixteen in 2003. Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. The total number of railway stations in India is estimatedto be between 8,000 .

3. Indian Railways is the fourth largest employer in the world, employing over a million people. The trains have a 5 digit numbering system and runs 12,617 passenger trains and 7,421 freight trains daily. As of 31 March 2016, 27,999 km (41.59%) of the total 67,312 km route length was electrified.

Economy

• Railways are the principal mode of transportation for freight and passengers in India. Railways also make it possible to conduct multifarious activities like business, sightseeing, and pilgrimage along with transportation of goods over longer distances.
• Railways in India bind the economic life of the country as well as accelerate the development of the industry and agriculture.
• The Indian Railway have a network of 7,133 stations spread over a route length of 64,460 km with a fleet of 9,213 locomotives, 53,220 passenger service vehicles, 6,493 other coach vehicles and 2,29,381 wagons as on March 2011.
• The Government of India earns a revenue of approx. ₹1.6345 trillion annually.

Budget

Theme of Budget

• Overcoming challenges – Reorganize, Restructure Rejuvenate Indian Railways: ‘Chalo, Milkar Kuch Naya Karen’
• Three pillars of the strategy i.e. Nav Arjan – New revenues, Nav Manak – New norms, Nav Sanrachna – New Structures.

Financial Performance

• 2015-16- Savings of Rs. 8,720 crore neutralizing most of the revenue shortfall.
• 2016-17- Target to restrict growth of Ordinary Working Expenses by 11.6% after building in immediate impact of 7th Pay Commission, reductions planned in diesel and electricity consumption, revenue generation targeted at Rs. 1,84,820 crore.

Investments and Resources

• 2016-17 CAPEX pegged at Rs. 1.21 lakh crore, implementation through joint ventures with states, developing new frameworks for PPP, etc.

Vision

• By 2020, long-felt desires of the common man to be fulfilled.

Port connectivity

Tuna Port commissioned and rail connectivity projects to ports of Jaigarh, Dighi, Rewas and Paradip under implementation of rail connectivity for the ports of Nargol and Hazira under PPP in 2016-17.

Jammu and Kashmir

Work on Katra-Banihal section of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project progressing satisfactorily- 35 kms of tunnelling out of total of 95 kms completed. Decongestion work on Jalandhar – Jammu line in full swing and doubling of two bridges to be commissioned by March 2016, while the other two bridges will be completed by 2016-17.

Make in India –

Finalised bids for two loco factories, proposed to increase the current procurement of train sets by 30%.

Partnerships –

• Cabinet approval for JVs with State Governments, 17 consented and 6 MOUs signed with State Governments.
• 44 new partnership works covering about 5,300 kms and valuing about Rs. 92,714 crore have been indicated in the Budget documents.
• Railways are preparing a Plan size of Rs. 1,21,000 crore in 2016-17.

Factories Allocated

• Madhepura(Bihar) : Diesel factory will cost Rs 2,052 crore
• Marhowra(Bihar) : Electric factory will cost Rs 1,293.57 crore
• Madhya Pradesh: Disel Factory will cost Rs 200 crore

Impact of Indian Railways on Economy

1. The Indian Railways contributes to India’s economic development, accounting for about one per cent of the GNP and the backbone of freight needs of the core sector.

2. It accounts for six per cent of the total employment in the organised sector directly and an additional 2.5 per cent indirectly through its dependent organisations.

3. It has in vested significantly in health, education, housing and sanitation. With its vast network of schools and investment in training, the Indian Railways plays an important role in human resource development.

Note:

• The Indian Railways, with nearly 63,000 route kilometres fulfils the country’s transport needs, particularly, in respect of long-distance passenger and goods traffic.
• Freight trains carry nearly 1.2 million tonnes of originating goods and 7,500 passenger trains carry nearly 12 million passengers every day.

Ranking

The Indian Railways is the largest public sector undertaking in the country. It is one of the world’s largest railway networks comprising 115,000 km (71,000 mi) of track over a route of 67,312 km (41,826 mi) and 7,112 stations.

India’s Biggest Platform – Gorakpur railway station is the important junction of Northern Indian railway & became the worlds largest platform with the length of 1,366m.

Ministry of Railways

• Cabinet minister: Suresh Prabhu

New Schemes

1. 100 rail stations to get Wi-Fi this year.
2. Indian Railways will provide 17,000 bio-toilets on trains.
3. Additional toilets at 475 stations before 2016-17 ends.
4. E-catering services to be extended to 408 stations.
5. Developing Delhi-Chennai, Kharagpur-Mumbai and Kharagpur-Vijayawada freight corridors on a priority basis.
6. To create rail auto hub in Chennai.
7. Watchdog proposed for railways.
8. FM radio entertainment on trains.
9. With new uniforms, railway porter will be called Sahayaks.
10. Half of lower berths reserved for senior citizens.
11. Baby food at stations, child menu on all trains.
12. Local cuisine to be available on trains.
13. Ticket cancellation through phone calls.
14. To install 1,780 automatic ticketing machines.
15. CCTV surveillance in all stations in a phased manner.
16. Local art to be highlighted at railway stations.
17. Dedicated freight corridors envisaged for North-South, East-West and East Coast alignments.

New Trains

There are 4 new trains announced by the Rail minister Suresh Prabhu in his second Railway Budget 2016-17.

• Humsafar: For the middle class
• Tejas: For those in a hurry
• Uday (Double-deckers): For those travelling on busy routes
• Antyodaya: For the economically backward

New App

Under the ‘Digital India’ programme, Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu is likely to launch a new platform named ‘JUMBO Bonanza of UTS on mobile’. Passengers can download a mobile application called ‘UTS on mobile’, which would not only save time, but also avoid the usage of paper for tickets.

• No of Rajdhani in India: There are currently 22 sets of Rajdhani Express operational
• No of Shatabdi in India: There are currently 60 sets of Shatabdi Express operational

Railway across Border

1. Jogbani-Biratnagar Link -Nepal
2. Samjhauta Express -Pakistan
3. Maitri Express -Bangladesh
4. Bhutan Railway -Bhutan
5. Myanmar Rail -Myanmar
6. Vietnam Link -Vietnam
7. Railway Link – China
8. Thailand Line -Thailand
9. Malaysia Railway Link
10. Singapore Train Link
11. Mannar Line- Sri Lanka

Japan-India Contract

The MOU for co-operation on the proposed 508 km Mumbai – Ahmedabad high speed line was signed on December 12 Japan would provide a 50-year loan worth more than Rs 790 bn, with a 15-year grace period and an interest rate of 0·1%. India’s Ministry of Railways said it had been agreed that Shinkansen technology would be adopted, with technology transfer to support the government’s Make in India policy. Japan would also provide staff training.

Most beautiful railway stations in India

1. Lucknow Charbagh Railway Station (Lucknow)
2. Barog (Shimla)
3. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai)
4. Ghum (Darjeeling)
5. Howrah (Kolkata)
6. Cuttack (Odisha)

LIC Contract

Indian Railways signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with state-run Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to raise Rs 1.5 lakh crore over the next five years beginning of April 2016.

The investment by LIC, to be made through Rs 30,000 crore of bonds issued annually by rail entities such as Indian Railway Finance Corporation would be channelised by the railways in capacity augmentation projects. The bonds will come with a five-year moratorium on interest and loan repayment.

PPP Model

A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P or P3) is a government service or private business venture that is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies. PPP involves a contract between a public sector authority and a private party, in which the private party provides a public service or project and assumes substantial financial, technical and operational risk in the project.

The Government-constituted expert committee named Ajay Shankar Committee to examine the Possibility of Replacing Multiple Prior Permissions with Pre-Existing Regulatory Mechanism submitted.

Committees on Railway

Production Unit of Indian Railways

Other Interesting Facts

1. Nationalised in 1951, Indian Railways is today the largest rail network in Asia and the world’s second largest network operated under a single management. It has 115,000 km of track length. It runs 12,617 trains to carry over 23 million passengers daily – equivalent to moving the entire population of Australia – connecting more than 7,172 stations.

2. Railways runs more than 7,421 freight trains carrying 3 million tonnes (MT) of freight every day.

3. Indian Railways is in constant touch with Railways across the world to bring in state-of-art facilities in its system. Towards this, a Memorandum of Understanding was singed during the Eighth Session of the Indo-Austria Joint Economic Commission held in Vienna.

4. Darjeeling Himalayan Railways attained the World Heritage Status from UNESCO.

5. Fairy Queen, the oldest functioning steam engine in the world, which finds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, got Heritage Award at the International Tourist Bureau, Berlin in March, 2000.

6. Indian Railways achieved a number of recognitions and awards in sports, tourism sector and for excellence in operational matters. In the Common Wealth Games in Manchester, the Indian teams record performance has been mainly due to Railway team’s excellence in sports.

7. India became the first developing country and the 5th country in the world to roll out the first indigenously built “state-of-the-art” high horse power three phase electric locomotive when the first such loco was flagged off from Chittranjan Locomotive Works (CLW).

IRCTC

IRCTC stands for Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation, it is a subsidiary of the Indian Railway that handles the catering, tourism & online ticketing operations of the Indian railway.

Headquarters: New Delhi, NCT

Heritage Trains of India

Konkan Railway

One of the important achievements of Indian Railways has been the construction of Konkan Railway in 1998. It is 760 km long rail route connecting Roha in Maharashtra to Mangalore in Karnataka. It is considered an engineering marvel. It crosses 146 rivers, streams, nearly 2000 bridges and91 tunnels. Asia’s largest tunnel which is nearly 6.5 km long also lies on this route. The states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka are partners in this undertaking.  It has constructed bridges – engineering marvels across major rivers like the Ganga, Godavari and Brahmputra.

Medical Railway

The Lifeline Express or the Jeevan Rekha Express is the worlds first medical train run by the impact india foundation. This train was started on 16^th July 1991 & had completed its 120 project with the benfits to 6,00,000 rural Indians. Some of the services provided by this train are Orthopaedic surgical intervention, Surgical interventions, Plastic Surgical correction, Epilepsy, Immunisations,Nutritional assessment.

Science Train

Three Ministries, led by their Union Ministers came together to flag off the Science Express Climate Action Special (SECAS).  Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Railway, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu and Union Minister of Department of Science and Technology, Dr Harsh Vardhan flagged off the train from Safderjung Railway Station. The Science Express Climate Action Special will travel across the country, covering about 19, 500 kms, initially for about eight months, halting at 64 locations in about 20 states.

Palace on Wheels

The Palace on wheels is the luxury train of India which was launched in August 2009, in association with Rajasthan Tourism & voted as 4^th Luxurious train in the world. The idea of this train is taken from the past rulers of Gujarat, Rajasthan & Hyderabad & was originally meant to be personal railway coaches.

• There are 23 coaches in the train.
• 104 tourists can travel in train.
• Each coach is named after former Rajput states and matches the aesthetics and interiors of the royal past: Alwar, Bharatpur, Bikaner, Bundi, Dholpur, Dungargarh, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Jhalawar, Jodhpur, Kishangarh, Kota, Sirohi and Udaipur.
• Each coach has four cabins (named chambers or saloons by the company) with luxury amenities and Wi-Fi internet.
• The train has two restaurants, The Maharaja and The Maharani, with a Rajasthani ambiance serving continental, Chinese cuisine, one bar cum lounge, 14 saloons and a spa.

Note:-

World’s fastest Train:  Shanghai Maglev, also known as Shanghai Transrapid, is currently the fastest train in the world. CRH 380A running between Beijing and Shanghai. AGV Italo, touted to be the most modern train in Europe, has a maximum operational speed of 360kmph.

World’s Latest Technology: The City LYNX Gold Line, formerly known as Center City Corridor, is a 16km streetcar project in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, US. The project, which is a key part of the Charlotte’s 2030 Transit Plan, is being developed in phases.

Zones of Indian Railways

Meter Gauge: It is the system of narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in).

Broad Gauge: A railway gauge which is wider than the standard gauge of 4 ft 8 1/2 in (1.435 m).

Types of Passenger Service

1. Gatimaan Express – It is a semi high speed train that runs between Delhi and Agra in India. It operates at a speed of 160 km/h (99 mph) and is one of the fastest train in India. The train will take a travel time of 100 minutes to cover 188 km (117 mi) journey from Hazrat Nizamuddin to Agra Cantonment railway stations.

2. Shatabdi Express – The Shatabdi trains are air-conditioned, intercity trains for travel during daytime. Unlike the Rajdhani or Duronto Expresses, all Shatabdi expresses, it makes a round trip on same day. They have seats and executive class seats, some also have 3-tier AC berth. They have limited stops. Indian Railway is planning to introduce Wi-Fi services, New Delhi – Kalka Shatabdi Express being first train for trials.

3. Rajdhani Express – These are air-conditioned trains linking major cities to New Delhi. They have high priority and are one of the fastest trains in India, travelling at a maximum speed of around 130–140 km/h (81–87 mph) & have limited stops. In the Railway budget of 2014, it was proposed that the speed of Rajdhani express, and Shatabdi Expresses would be increased up 180 km/h (110 mph).

4. Duronto Express – These are the non-stop (except for technical halts) point to point rail services introduced for the first time in 2009. They connect the metros and major state capitals of India and were introduced to travel as fast or faster than the Rajdhani Express.They provide first AC, two-tier AC and three-tier AC accommodation. Some of them provide non air-conditioned Sleeper Class accommodation.

5. AC Express – These are fully air-conditioned trains linking major cities in the country. They have high priority and are one of the fastest trains in India, travelling at about 130 km/h (81 mph). They have limited stops.

6. Tejas Express – Same as Shatabdi Express, these are fully air-conditioned single floor express trains. They have high priority and have limited stops. But unlike the Shatabdi Express these trains are sleeper trains used for long distance hauling.

7. Double Decker Express – Same as Shatabdi Express, these are fully air-conditioned two floor express trains. They have high priority and are among fast trains in India. They have limited stops & are used for daytime travel.

8. Udyan Express – Same as Double Decker Express, these are fully air-conditioned two floor express trains. They have high priority and have limited stops. These trains have berth facility and are used for night travel.

9. Jan Shatabdi Express – Jan Shatabdi Express are more affordable variety of the Shatabdi Express, which have both AC and non-AC classes. The maximum speed is 130 km/h (81 mph). They have fewer stops.

10. Garib Rath – Air-conditioned no-frills trains with seats and 3-tier Economy AC berths. The maximum speed is 130 km/h (81 mph). Some of them have AC Chair cars also.

11. Humsafar Express – These are fully AC 3 tier coaches trains.

12. Sampark Kranti Express – These are a series of trains which provide super fast Express-like connectivity to the national capital Delhi. These trains have higher priority than Super Express / Mail.

13. Yuva Express – These trains were started along with Duronto Express trains to provide air conditioned travel to youth of the country. Sixty percent of the seats of these trains were reserved for passengers between 18 – 45 years of age. These trains did not enjoy much success. Today these trains only operate on the Delhi – Howrah and Delhi – Mumbai routes.

14. Kavi Guru Express – These trains were introduced in honor of Rabindranath Tagore. Currently four pairs of these trains operate on the Indian Railways network.

15. Vivek Express – These trains were introduced to commemorate the 150th birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda in 2013. Currently four pairs of Vivek Express run in the country.

16. Superfast Express/Mail – These trains travel at a speed greater than 100–110 km/h (62–68 mph). Tickets for these trains have an additional superfast surcharge.

17. Intercity Express – These trains were introduced to connect important cities for short routes. These appear in both Superfast Express speed and Express speed category. Some of the famous legendary Intercity Express are Deccan Queen and Flying Ranee.

18. Rajya Rani Express – These trains were introduced to connect state capitals to important cities in that state.

19. Express/Mails – These are the most common kind of trains in India. They have more stops than their super-fast counterparts, but they stop only at relatively important intermediate stations.

20. Fast Passenger and Passenger – These are slow trains that stop at most or every station along the route and are the cheapest trains. The trains generally have unreserved seating accommodation but some night trains have sleeper and 3-tier AC compartments. These trains travel at about 40–80 km/h (25–50 mph).

21. Suburban trains – These trains operate in the urban areas of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and between Kanpur and Lucknow, usually stop at every stations and have unreserved seating accommodation.

22. Metro – These trains are designed for city transport. Indian Railway constructed the first Kolkata Metro for the city of Kolkata. Now metro railway services are found in New Delhi, Mumbai,Chennai and Bangalore also.

23. Antyodaya and Jan Sadharan Express – These are fully non reserved trains. Antyodaya Express operates on peak routes. These trains are run to reduce the pressure on other trains on that route.

24. Mahamana Express – It is the new version of coaches of Indian Railways with modern benefits and facilities. The livery of the train is also different from other train. It is a tri-weekly superfast train service which runs between the city of Varanasi and New Delhi via Jaunpur, Sultanpur, Lucknow and Moradabad.

25. Tourist Trains – Indian Railways also operate luxurious tourist trains like Palace on Wheels, Maharaja Express, The Golden Chariot, Royal Rajasthan on Wheels etc. Fairy Queen has also gained tourist attraction because it is the oldest steam engine in operation hauling a luxurious train from Delhi to Alwar.

26. Heritage Trains  Darjeeling Himalayan Railway – The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the “Toy Train”, is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881. DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999.