Things You Need To Know About Indian Railways

By Author: Forum Fernandis
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Indian Railways consists of a vast network of rail lines crisscrossing the country. There is hardly any place where the railway has not reached and even the most remote places of India have rail connections. It is controlled by the Railway Ministry and has its headquarters in New Delhi. It is one of the largest rail networks in the world today and also employs about 1.4 million people.

The regions over which it operates are classified into 17 zones for more effective operation. There are more than 7500 railway stations in India, through which the trains pass, stopping to let the passengers get in and get off the trains. These stations, which are categorized as major stations and suburban stations, have most of the trains halt for longer and shorter time respectively, for major stations have a large number of passengers getting in or getting off the trains every time.

There are four gauge systems on which the trains run in India. They are the broad, meter, standard and narrow gauges. Among these the most commonly used is the broad gauge. The meter gauge is mainly used in regions of less traffic and the narrow gauge ...
... in hilly areas and private railways. The gauge is coded on the locomotive as ‘W’ for broad gauge, ‘Y’ for meter gauge, ‘Z’ for the 762 mm narrow gauge and ‘N’ for the 610 mm narrow gauge.

Till late 1980s, the ticket reservation in Indian Railways was done manually. It was in late 1987 that computerized reservation was started in the railway. In 1995, the online ticket reservation was introduced. Now majority of the passengers book their tickets online, which provides many attractive offers and discounts as well.

The Railways is always on the path of development and is now far better than it was a few decades back. Every year a Railway Budget is presented by the Railway Ministry, in which a lot of reforms as well as suggestions for the better running of the railway are included. A number of fast and super-fast trains are introduced to accommodate the large number of passengers traveling in trains. The high-speed trains are on their way to be launched in the near future. The coaches, security, tracks and services are all upgraded from the existing ones. And according to the new budget Wi-Fi will be available on selected trains.

Indian Railways is responsible for carrying about 30 million passengers daily and thus, their security and safety is of prime importance to the railway. The railway authorities have taken excellent security measures, so that the commuters can travel with ease without any fear and tension. Women traveling alone can choose to travel in the ‘Ladies’ compartments. The trains have two ladies coaches, one near the Guard’s cabin at the rear end of the train and one in the middle of the train for their safe travel.

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