1Essay on Indian Railways
Indian Railways (IR) is India's national railway system operated by the Ministry of Railways. It manages the fourth-largest railway network in the world by size, with 121,407 kilometres (75,439 mi) of total track over a 67,368-kilometre (41,861 mi) route Forty nine percent of the routes are electrified with 25 KV AC electric traction while thirty three percent of them are double or multi-tracked.[3][4]
IR runs more than 13,000 passenger trains daily, on both long-distance and suburban routes, from 7,349 stations across India. The trains have a five-digit numbering system. Mail or express trains, the most common types, run at an average speed of 50.6 kilometres per hour (31.4 mph) . In the freight segment, IR runs more than 9,200 trains daily. The average speed of freight trains is around 24 kilometres per hour (15 mph).
In the year ending March 2018, IR is projected to carry 8.26 billion passengers and transport 1.16 billion tons of freight. In the fiscal year 2017-18, IR is projected to have earnings of â?¹1.874 trillion (US$29 billion), consisting of â?¹1.175 trillion (US$18 billion) in freight revenue and â?¹501.25 billion(US$7.7 billion) in passenger revenue, with an operating ratio of 96.0 percent.
The first railway proposals for India were made in Madras in 1832.[ The country's first train, Red Hill Railway (built by Arthur Cotton to transport granite for road-building), ran from Red Hills to the Chintadripet bridge in Madras in 1837. India's first passenger train, hauled by three steam locomotives (Sahib, Sindh and Sultan), ran for 34 kilometres (21 mi) with 400 people in 14 carriages on 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge track between Bori Bunder (Mumbai) and Thane on 16 April 1853. The Dapoorie viaduct, India's first railway bridge, was built over the Ulhas River when the Mumbai-Thane line was extended to Kalyan in May 1854. Eastern India's first passenger train ran 24 miles (39 km) from Howrah, near Kolkata, to Hoogly on 15 August 1854.[1] The first passenger train in South India ran 60 miles (97 km) from Royapuram- Veyasarapady (Madras) to Wallajah Road (Arcot) on 1 July 1856.
On 24 February 1873, a horse-drawn 3.8-kilometre (2.4 mi) tram opened in Calcutta between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat Street. In 1897, lighting in passenger coaches was introduced by many railway companies. On 3 February 1925, the first electric passenger train in India ran between Victoria Terminus and Kurla.
The organisation of Indian railways into regional zones began in 1951,[14] when the Southern (14 April 1951), Central (5 November 1951) and Western (5 November 1951) zones were created. Fans and lights were mandated for all compartments in all passenger classes in 1951, and sleeping accommodations were introduced in coaches. In 1956, the first fully air-conditioned train was introduced between Howrah and Delhi. Ten years later, the first containerized freight service began between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. In 1986, computerized ticketing and reservations were introduced in New Delhi.
In 1988, the first Shatabdi Express was introduced between New Delhi and Jhansi; it was later extended to Bhopal. Two years later, the first self-printing ticket machine (SPTM) was introduced in New Delhi. In 1993, air-conditioned three-tier coaches and a sleeper class (separate from second class) were introduced on IR. The CONCERT system of computerized reservations was deployed in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai in September 1996. In 1998, coupon validating machines (CVMs) were introduced at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. The nationwide Concierge system began operation on 18 April 1999. In February 2000, the Indian Railways website went online. On 3 August 2002, IR began online train reservations and ticketing.[20] Indian Railways announced on 31 March 2017 that the country's entire rail network would be electrified by 2022.
. IR is divided into 17 zones, headed by general managers who report to the Railway Board. The zones are further subdivided into 68 operating divisions, headed by divisional railway managers (DRM).[24] The divisional officers of the engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal and telecommunication, stores, accounts, personnel, operating, commercial, security and safety branches report to their respective DRMs and are tasked with the operation and maintenance of assets. Station masters control individual stations and train movements through their stations' territory. In addition, there are a number of Production Units, Training Establishments, Public Sector Enterprises and other Offices working under the control of Railway Board.
Goods wagons
As of March 2017, IR fleet consisted of 277,987 goods wagons. They carried 1,110 million tonnes of freight in Fiscal Year 2016-17. Wagon types used by IR include BCACBM, BCCN, BCNA, BCNHL, BOBRN, BOBYN, BOXN (BOXN-HL, BOXN-HS, BOXN-HL, BOXN-CR, BOXN-LW, BOXN-AL, BOXN-EL), BRH, BTPGLN, BTPN and VVN.
IR’s bulk requirement of wagons is met by wagon manufacturing units both in public and private sectors as well as other Public Sector Units under the administrative control of Ministry of Railways.
Passenger coaches
On long distance routes and also on some shorter routes, IR uses 2 primary types of coach design types. ICF coaches, in production from 1955 until Jan 2018,] constitute the bulk of the current stock. These coaches, considered to be having inadequate safety features, are slowly being phased out. As of September 2017, around 40,000 coaches are still in operation. The older coaches are being replaced with LHB coaches. Introduced in mid '90s, these coaches are lighter, safer and are capable of speeds up to 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph).
IR has announced that two new self-propelled train set designs will be introduced starting from mid 2018. These two train types, termed as Train-18 and Train-20, are expected to replace locomotive-hauled trains on long distance routes.
On regional short distance routes, IR runs Mainline Electrical Multiple Unit (MEMU) or Diesel Electrical Multiple Unit (DEMU)trains, depending on the traction available. These train sets are self-propelled with capability for faster acceleration or deceleration and are expected to reduce congestion on dense routes. Passenger locomotive-hauled trains, having frequent stops are slowly being replaced with train sets across India.
On suburban commuter routes around the large urban centers, IR runs trains with Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) coaches. As of March 2017, about 9100 coaches are in operation.
Manufacturing
Indian Railways is a vertically-integrated organization that produces majority of its rolling stock at in-house production units, with a few recent exceptions.
The Chittaranjan Locomotive Works in Chittaranjan manufactures electric locomotives, and the Diesel Locomotive Works in Varanasi makes Diesel and Electric locomotives. The Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works in Patialaupgrades the WDM-2 locomotive from 2,600 to 3,100 hp. Some electric locomotives have been supplied by Bharat Heavy Electricals, and locomotive components are manufactured in other plants around the country. Coaches are produced at Integral Coach Factory, Rail Coach Factory and Modern Coach Factory located in different parts of the country. The Rail Wheel Factory at Yelahanka, Bangalore and the Rail Wheel Plant, Bela in Chhapra, Bihar manufactures wheels and axles.The repair and maintenance of this vast fleet of rolling stock is carried out at 44 loco sheds, 212 carriage & wagon repair units and 45 periodic overhaul workshops located across various zones of IR. In November 2015, IR awarded USD 2.6bn locomotive supply and maintenance contract to General Electric. The contract stipulates that GE will import 40 locomotives and will produce another 960 over a period of 11 years in a new Diesel Locomotive Factory at Marhowra in Bihar. On the same day, another USD 3bn contract has been awarded to Alstom SA to manufacture 800 high power electric locomotives (12000 HP) over 11 yeas in a new Electric Locomotive Factory at Madhepura.
