Indian Railway Services-Introduction & History

Introduction

Indian Railways (reporting mark IR) is a State owned national transporter, and responsible for rail
transport in India. It is owned and operated by the Government of India through the Ministry of
Railways. It is the fourth largest railway network in the world comprising 119,630 kilometers
(74,330 mi) of total track and 92,081 km (57,216 mi) of running track over a route of 66,687 km
(41,437 mi) with 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. As of the end of 2015-16, of the total 68,525 km (42,579 mi) route length, 28,327 km
(17,602 mi) or 45% were electrified and 28,371 km (17,629 mi) or 37% were double or multiple
line routes the railway network is predominantly a broad-gauge network. Small stretches of the
network use meter and narrow gauges. All the electrified lines use 25 kV AC electric traction.

IR operates both long distance and suburban rail systems. IR ran on average 13,313 passenger
trains daily in 2015-16. The trains have a five-digit numbering system. Mail or express trains, the
most common types, run at an average speed of 50.9 km/hr. As of the end of 2015-16, IR's rolling
stock comprised over 254,006 freight wagons, 70,241 passenger coaches and
11,122 locomotives (39 powered by steam, 5,869 by diesel fuel and 5214 by electricity). It also
owns locomotive and coach production facilities at several places in India.

IR is the world's eighth biggest employer and had 1.331 million employees at the end of 2015-
16. In 20152016, IR had revenues of 1.683 trillion (US$26 billion), consisting of 1.069
trillion (US$17 billion) freight earnings and 442.83 billion (US$6.9 billion) passengers
earnings It had an operating ratio of 90.5% in 2015-16.

History of Indian Railway services

18321852: Industrial railways:

First proposals for railways in India were made in Madras in 1832.[7] The first train in India ran
from Red Hills to Chintadripet bridge in Madras in 1837. It was called Red Hill Railway. It was
hauled by a rotary steam engine locomotive manufactured by William Avery. It was built by
Sir Arthur Cotton. It was mainly used for transporting granite stones for road building work in
Madras.[7] In 1845, a railway was built at Dowleswaram in Rajahmundry. It was called Godavari
Dam Construction Railway. It was also built by Arthur Cotton. It was used to supply stones for
construction of a dam over Godavari.[7] On 8 May 1845, Madras Railway was incorporated. In
the same year East India Railway company was incorporated. On 1 August 1849, Great Indian
Peninsular Railway was incorporated by an Act of Parliament. "Guarantee System" providing free
land and guaranteed rates of return (5%) to the private English companies willing to work on
building railways was finalized on 17 August 1849. In 1851, a railway was built in Roorkee. It was
called Solani Aqueduct Railway. It was hauled by steam locomotive Thomason, named after a
British officer in-charge of same name. It was used for transporting construction materials for
building of aqueduct over Solani river.[7] In 1852, the "Madras Guaranteed Railway Company"
was incorporated.

18531924: Passenger railways and expansion:

The first passenger train in India ran between Bombay (Bori Bunder) and Thane on 16 April 1853.
The 14-carriage train was hauled by three steam locomotives: Sahib, Sindh and Sultan. It ran for
about 34 kilometers between these two cities carrying 400 people. The line was built and
operated by GIPR. This railway line was built in 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge, which became
the standard for the railways in the country. The first passenger railway train in eastern India ran
from Howrah, near Calcutta to Hoogly, for distance of 24 miles, on 15 August 1854. The line was
built and operated by EIR. In May 1854, the Bombay-Thane line was extended to Kalyan by
building bridge over "Dapoorie viaduct" over Ulhas river.This was also the first railway bridge in
India. In the same year GIPR started its first workshops in Byculla. In 1855, BB&CI Railway was
incorporated. In August 1855, EIR 'Express' and Fairy Queen steam locomotives started hauling
trains. The first passenger train in South India ran from Royapuram / Veyasarapady (Madras) to
Wallajah Road (Arcot) on 1 July 1856, for a distance of 60 miles. It was built and operated by
Madras Railway. In the same year, first workshop was set up by the Madras Railway at Perambur,
near Madras. The Bombay-Thane line was extended to Khopoli in same year. In 1858, Eastern
Bengal Railway was incorporated. On 24 February 1873, the first tramway (a horse-drawn
tramway) opened in Calcutta between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat Street, a distance of
3.8 km. In 1874, GSIR and Carnatic Rly. merged to form the South Indian Railway. On 9 May 1874,
horse-drawn tramway began operations in Bombay between Colaba and Parel. In 1880, Calcutta
Tramways Company was incorporated. In 1890, East Coast State Railway was incorporated. In
1897, lighting in passenger coaches was introduced by many railway companies. In 1902, the
Jodhpur Railway became the first to introduce electric lights as standard fixtures. In 1920, electric
lighting of signals was introduced between Dadar and Currey Road in Bombay.

19251950: Electrification and further expansion:

On 3 February 1925, first electric passenger train in India ran between Victoria terminus and
Kurla. It ran on 1500V DC overhead traction. Cammell Laird and Uerdingen wagon fabrik
companies provided the locomotives for the same. In the same year VT-Bandra section was also
electrified and electric services began there, with an elevated platform at Sandhurst Road. In the
same year, the Oudh and Rohilkhund Railway was merged with EIR. The first railway budget was
also presented in 1925. East Indian Railway Company and Great Indian Peninsular Railway were
taken over by the state in the same year. In 1926, Kurla-Kalyan section was electrified with 1500
V DC. Electrification to Poona and Igatpuri (both 1500V DC) over the Bhore and Thal Ghats was
also completed in the same year. Charbagh railway station in Lucknow was built in the same year.
On Jan 1928, Bandra-Virar section was electrified with 1500V DC. In the same year, the Frontier
Mail made its inaugural run between Bombay VT and Peshawar. and first automatic colour-light
signals became operational in India, on GIPR's lines between Bombay VT and Byculla. In the same
year, Kanpur Central and Lucknow stations were inaugurated. In 1929, the Grand Trunk Express
began running between Peshawar and Mangalore, Punjab Limited Express began running
between Mumbai and Lahore. Automatic color-light signaling was extended to the Byculla-Kurla
section in the same year. On 1 June 1930, the Deccan Queen began running, hauled by a WCP-1
(No. 20024, old number EA/1 4006) and with 7 coaches, on the GIPR's electrified route from
Bombay VT to Poona (Pune). In the same year, Hyderabad Godavary Valley Rly. was merged into
Nizam's State Rly. In the same year, the route of the Grand Trunk Exp. was changed to Delhi -
Madras.
19511983: Zonal re-organization and further developments:

The re-organization of railways in India into regional zones began in 1951. On 14 April
1951, Southern Railway was created. On 5 November, Central Railway and Western
Railway were created. In the same year, the post of Chief Commissioner of Railways was
abolished, and the Railway Board adopted the practice of making the senior most member
Chairman of the board. In the same year, the government of West Bengal entered into an
agreement with the Calcutta Tramways Co. to take over its administrative functions. On 14 April
1952, Northern Railway, Eastern Railway and North-Eastern Railway were created. In the same
year, fans and lights were mandated for all compartments in all classes of passenger
accommodation and sleeping accommodation was introduced in coaches. On 1 August
1955, Eastern Railway was split to form new South-Eastern Railway. In 1956, divisional system of
administration was set up for the various regional zones. Also in 1956, the first fully air-
conditioned train was introduced between Howrah and Delhi. In 1957, after successful trials in
France, SNCF proposed 25kV AC electrification for railways. Railways took a decision to adopt
25kV AC electrification and chose SNCF as technical consultant. An organization, Main Line
Electrification Project (which later became the Railway Electrification Project and still later
the Central Organization for Railway Electrification) was established in the same year. In 1958,
the North-Eastern Railway split to form a new Northeast Frontier Railway. In 1959, the Raj
Kharswan - Dongoposi section became the first section to be electrified with 25kV AC
traction. The first scheduled train using 25kV AC traction ran on Raj Kharswan Dongoposi
section on 11 August 1960. In 1966, first containerized freight services were started, between
Bombay and Ahmedabad. In the same year, electrification of several suburban tracks around
Delhi, Madras and Calcutta was completed with the 25 kV AC system. In 1979, Main Line
Electrification Project was reconstituted into Central Organization for Railway
Electrification(CORE).

1984present: Later developments:

In 1986, computerized ticketing and reservation was introduced in India, for the first time, at
New Delhi. In 1988, The first Shatabdi Express was introduced in the country between New Delhi
and Jhansi (later extended to Bhopal), and became the fastest train at the time. In 1990, first Self-
Printing Ticket Machine (SPTM) was introduced, at New Delhi. In 1993, AC 3-tier coaches were
introduced for the first time in India. In the same year, Sleeper Class was introduced on IR for the
first time, separate from Second Class. On 16 January 1995, first regularly scheduled services on
trains hauled by locos using the 2*25kV system of traction started on Bina-Katni. In September
1996, CONCERT system of computerized reservations was fully deployed at New Delhi, Mumbai
and Chennai. In 1998, Coupon Validating Machines (CVMs) were introduced at Mumbai CST. The
complete networked nationwide CONCERT system became operational on 18 April 1999. In the
same year, South East Central was constituted. Credit cards were started being accepted for
booking tickets and reservations in some stations also in 1999. In February 2000, Indian Railways
web site was deployed.] On 6 July 2002, the East Coast, South Western, South East Central, North
Central, and West Central zones were created. On 3 August 2002, IR began online train
reservations and ticketing over the Internet. On 1 December 2002, Internet ticket booking was
extended to many cities. On 5 February 2012, WR switched completely to 25kV AC traction,
ending its use of 1.5kV DC traction. On 26 September 2013, Tatkal system of ticketing extended
to ordinary trains. On 5 April 2016, Gatiman Express, India's fastest train with the maximum
speed of 160 km/h, made its maiden journey from Delhi to Agra. On 11 April 2016, CR completely
switched to 25 kV AC traction, ending the use of DC traction completely in Mumbai area as well
as on entire main-line rail network in the country. On 31 March 2017, IR announced that the
entire rail network in the country will be electrified by 2022.

Indian Railways plans to buy 1,800 engines from the two facilities over 11 years. Under the
agreements, 1,000 diesel locomotives will be manufactured by the GE-led venture with a basic
cost of Rs 14,656 crore, while the Alstom-led venture will manufacture and supply 800 electric
locomotives at a basic cost of Rs 19,904 crore.