RAILWAY SYSTEMS IN INDIA

1.INTRODUCTION

Indian Railways is an Indian state-owned enterprise.

It is one of the world's largest railway networks comprising 115,000 km of track over a route of 65,436 km and 7,172 stations.

Indian Railways is the world's seventh largest commercial or utility employer.

2. HISTORYThe first train in the country had run between Roorkee and Piran Kaliyar on December 22, 1851.

A British engineer, Robert Maitland Brereton, was responsible for the expansion of the railways from 1857 onwards.

By 1875, about 95 million were invested by British companies in Indian guaranteed railways.

By 1880 the network route was about 14,500 km.

In 1907, almost all the rail companies were taken over by the British government.

The growth of the rail network significantly decreased the impact of famine in India.

3.RAILWAY ZONESIndian Railways is divided into 17 zones.

The number of zones in Indian Railways increased from six to eight in 1951.

Each zonal railway is made up of certain number of divisions, having a headquarter. There are total of sixty-eight divisions.

Each zone is headed by a general manager, who reports directly to the Railway Board.

NAMEABBR.DATE ESTABLISHEDROUTE(KM)HEADQUARTERSouthernSR14 April 19515098Chennai

CentralCR5 November 19513905Mumbai

WesternWR5 November 19516182Mumbai

EasternER14 April 19522414Kolkata

NorthernNR14 April 19526968Delhi

North EasternNER14 April 19523667Gorakhpur

NAMEABBR.DATE ESTABLISHEDROUTE(KM)HEADQUARTERSouth EasternSER19552631Kolkata

Northeast FrontierNFR15 January 19583907Ghuwati

South CentralSCR2 October 19665951Secunderabad

Kolkata MetroKMRCL24 October 198425Kolkata

East CentralECR1 October 20023628Hajipur

North WesternNMR1 October 20025459Jaipur

NAMEABBR.DATE ESTABLISHEDROUTE(KM)HEADQUARTEREast CoastECOR1 April 20032677BhubaneswarNorth CentralNCR1 April 20033151AllahabadSouth East CentralSECR1 April 20032447BilaspurSouth WesternSWR1 April 20033177HubliWest CentralWCR1 April 20032965Jabalpur

4.NETWORKS OF INDIAN RAILWAYS

5.ROLLING STOCK

The term Rolling stock originally referred to any vehicles that move on a railway.

It has since expanded to include the wheeled vehicles used by business roadways.

It usually includes both powered, unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, passenger coaches, freight and goods wagons.

5.1 LOCOMOTIVES

The locomotives of India presently consist of electric and some diesel locomotives. Steam locomotives are no longer used in India, except in heritage trains.

A locomotive is also called loco or engine.

In India, locomotives are classified according to their track gauge, motive power.

5.2 PASSENGER COACHES

Indian railway has several types of passenger coaches.

Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) coaches are used for suburban traffic in large cities.

Mainly Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

They have second class and first class seating accommodation.

5.3 GOODS WAGONS

The number of goods wagons was 205,596 on 31 March 1951 and reached the maximum number 405,183 on 31 March 1980 after which it started declining and was 239,321 on 31 March 2012.

The number is far less than the requirement and the Indian Railways keeps losing freight traffic to road. Indian Railways carried 93 million tones of goods in 195051 and it increased to 1010 million tones in 201213.

5.4 FREIGHT

Indian Railways earns about 70% of its revenues from freight traffic.

It deliberately keeps its passenger fares low and cross-subsidies the loss-making passenger traffic with the profit-making freight traffic.

6. TECHNICAL DETAILS6.1 TRACKS AND GAUGESIndia comes fourth with approx. 64,000 km of railroad.

Track gaugeis the spacing of the rails on arailway track measured between the inner faces of rails.

Indian Railway has 4 gauges : Broad Gauge 5 feet 6 Inches wide Standard Gauge - 4feet812Inches wide Meter Gauge - 3feet338Inches wide Narrow Gauge 2 feet 6 Inches wide

6.2 DEVELOPMENT FACILITIESSeat Algorithm

Transferable Tickets

Change of Boarding Point

Retiring Rooms

I-Ticket and E-Ticket

Quotas

Current Reservation Window

Auto Upgradation

7. ACCOMODATION CLASSES 7.1 AC 2 tierNot too different from the AC 1, the Ac 2 tier does not have a lockable door and the additional space for luggage.

But it is very peaceful way to travel across India.

It is very comfortable and the bedding (pillow, blanket and bed sheet) are provided.

The air conditioning can fluctuate and so the temperature can vary, but overall it is a good experience.

7.2 AC 3 TIERThe AC 3 tier is the cheapest of the AC options, and the only discomfort is that instead of being a 2x2 seating it is 3x2 seating.

It has three tiers of bunks - upper, middle and lower on one side and two (upper and lower) along the other side of the aisle.

It's more crowded than AC 2-tier, and it lacks the privacy curtains and individual berth lights found in AC2.

7.3 ECONOMY AC-3 CLASSThe Railways are positioning the Economy AC-3 as a new AC Class, offering travel at fares lesser than the normal AC-3. The extra berths are being squeezed in to increase coach capacity from 64 to 72 berths it will, however, reduce the comfort level.

A ticket in Economy AC-3 may cost up to Rs 50 less than an AC-3 ticket.

7.4 EXECUTIVE CLASSExecutive Class is the railways' version of business class in an aircraft, and is only found on Shatabdi Express trains and a few day Duronto Expresses. It is a sitting class with 2 x 2 seating and a generous amount of legroom.Food served in Executive Class is of better quality (and quantity) than food served to passengers of other classes in the train. Most Executive Class coaches are extremely well maintained, and short to long day journeys by this class very comfortable.

7.5 SLEEPER CLASSThis is non Air condition and available in 3 tier seating format of 3x2, a replica of the AC 3 tier. This is the way most Indians travel and every single train has a sleeper class. Sleeper class can be quite crowded (although in theory all berths must be reserved, so it can't get overcrowded) because of locals using the sleeper class for regular day to day travel.

8.RAILWAY SECURITY SYSTEMIn all transport systems, particularly in case of railways, safety and reliability are highly considered.

There is a view that the current regulatory framework does not provide full set of tools to effectively deal with railway accidents and Main track derailments.

Integrated Security System was proposed for 202 important railway stations in the entire railway network.

The Close Circuit TV System will be installed in the stations area in such a manner that it covers the entire station premises including concourse, waiting halls, platforms, over-bridges etc.

The CCTV system will be internet protocol based and will have important video analytics which will give automatic signals in case of suspected baggage, excessive crowd, intrusion by unauthorized persons etc.

For personal screening, reliance shall be on hand held metal detectors, door frame metal detectors and frisking in suspected cases.

Baggage screening will be done through large size X-Ray machines.

Boundary wall along with barbed wall fencing will be provided in such a manner that unauthorized entry/exit is not possible through-out the station area.

Automatic vehicle scanner will be provided at entry gates from where vehicles enter into the station premises.A scanner will be integrated into the Control Room meant for surveillance.

9.PROBLEMS AND ISSUES

Indian Railways is cash strapped and reported a loss of 30,000 crores (300bn) in the passenger segment for the year ending March 2014.

Operating ratio, a key metric used by Indian railways to gauge financial health, is 91.8% in the year 2014-15.

Railways carry a social obligation of over 20,000 crores (200bn $3.5bn).

The loss per passenger-km increased to 23 parse by the end of March 2014.

Indian Railways is left with a surplus cash of just 690 crores (6.9bn $115mn) by the end of March 2014.

10.SOLUTIONS

Unauthorized entry of citizens without ticket or platform ticket must be stopped.

Local vendors and beggars must be banned on the platform and in the train.

Awareness should be created among the general public about keeping railways and platforms clean 4. The cleaning staff needs to be made accountable for their work.

Cleaning of stations and trains must be outsourced to private industry with service level contracts.

Bigger dustbins in every compartment and they being emptied at every major station.

11. SURVEY RESULTS1) How often do you travel by train?

2) How often are the locals on time ?

3) Do you find Railway Stations clean and hygienic in India ?

4) How safe do you find women are while travelling through trains ?

5) Are you satisfied with the security provided by the railway system?

6) Are the ticket fares reasonable ?

7) Are you aware of the Online Reservation System in India?

8) Have you ever used the Online Reservation System ?

9) Should the Railways provide Wi-Fi Facility ?

10) Are you satisfied by the food provided by the pantry in Railways?

11. CONCLUSIONRailways need to provide best service at minimum cost.

It is essential for the railways to be ahead of technical developments in all parts of the world and carry out independent Research and Development.

It is necessary for the railways to adopt foreign technology that suits the Indian conditions.

Organized research should be carried out by railways for reducing the manufacturing cost and the operational cost.