Indian Railways

:This article is about the rail company in India. For technical details and operations see: Rail transport in India.

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Indian Railways (IR) is the state-owned railway company of India having a complete monopoly over the country's rail transport. It has one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting over 5 billion passengers and over 350 million tonnes of freight annually. IR is also the world's largest commercial or utility employer, having more than 1.6 million regular employees on its payroll{{ref|GBWR}}.

Related Topics:
State-owned - Railway - India - Monopoly - Billion - Tonne - Freight - Employer

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The railways traverse through the length and breadth of the country covering a total length of 63,140 km (39,200 miles). IR owns a total of 216,717 wagons, 39,236 coaches and 7,739 locomotives and runs a total of 14,444 trains daily, including about 8,702 passenger trains{{ref|INR}}.

Related Topics:
Km - Mile - Locomotive

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Railways were first introduced to India in 1853, and by 1947, the year of India's independence, it had grown to forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit, to become one of the largest networks in the world. Indian Railways operates both long distance, as well as suburban rail systems.

Related Topics:
India's independence - Nationalised

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