Indian Railways
This article is about the organisation. For general information on railways in India, see Rail transport in India.
 | |
| Type | Departmental Undertaking of The Ministry of Railways, Government of India |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 16 April 1853[1] |
| Headquarters | New Delhi, Delhi, India |
| Area served | India |
| Products | Rail transport, Cargo transport, Services, more... |
| Revenue |  98,000 crore (US$19.87 billion) (2010–11)[2] |
| Net income |  9,595 crore (US$1.95 billion) (2009–10)[2] |
| Owner(s) | Republic of India (100%) |
| Employees | 1,361,519 (2010)[3] |
| Divisions | 17 Railway Zones |
| Website | www.indianrailways.gov.in |
Indian Railways has 114,500 kilometres (71,147 mi).[3] of total track over a route of 65,000 kilometres (40,389 mi)[3] and 7,500 stations. It has the world's fourth largest railway network after those of the United States, Russia and China.[4] The railways carry over 30 million passengers and 2.8 million tons of freight daily.[3] [5] It is the world's second largest commercial or utility employer, by number of employees, with more than 1.36 million employees[3] As for rolling stock, IR owns over 240,000 (freight) wagons, 60,000 coaches and 9,000 locomotives.[3]
Railways were first introduced to India in 1853. By 1947, the year of India's independence, there were forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit, becoming one of the largest networks in the world. IR operates both long distance and suburban rail systems on a multi-gauge network of broad, metre and narrow gauges. It also owns locomotive and coach production facilities.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Organisational structure
Main article: Indian Railway organisational structure
Indian Railways is a department owned and controlled by the Government of India, via the Ministry of Railways. As of May 2011, the Railway Ministry is headed by Dinesh Trivedi, the Union Minister for Railways, and assisted by two ministers of State for Railways. Indian Railways is administered by the Railway Board, which has a chairman, five members and a financial commissioner.[6][edit] Railway zones
Each of the seventeen zones, including Kolkata Metro, is headed by a General Manager (GM) who reports directly to the Railway Board. The zones are further divided into divisions under the control of Divisional Railway Managers (DRM). The divisional officers of engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal and telecommunication, accounts, personnel, operating, commercial and safety branches report to the respective Divisional Manager and are in charge of operation and maintenance of assets. Further down the hierarchy tree are the Station Masters who control individual stations and the train movement through the track territory under their stations' administration.
DMRC), that has constructed and operates Delhi Metro network, is an independent organisation not connected to the Indian Railways.
[edit] Recruitment and training
UPSC Civil Services Exam
1) Indian Railway Traffic Service, Group ‘A’.
2) Indian Railway Accounts Service, Group 'A'.
3) Indian Railway Personnel Service, Group ‘A’.
4) Railway Protection Force, Group ‘A’
UPSC Engineering Services Exam
1) Indian Railway Service of Engineers, Group ‘A’
2) Indian Railway Stores Service, Group ‘A’
3) Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers, Group ‘A’
4) Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers, Group ‘A’
5) Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers, Group ‘A’
UPSC Special Class Railway Apprentice Examination for recruitment to the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers
[edit] Production units
| Sl. No | Name | Abbr. | Year Established | Location | Main products |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Chittaranjan Locomotive Works | CLW | 1947 | Chittaranjan | Electric Locomotives |
| 2. | Diesel Locomotive Works | DLW | 1961 | Varanasi | Diesel-electric Locomotives |
| 3. | Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works | DMW | 1981 | Patiala | Diesel-electric Locomotives |
| 4. | Integral Coach Factory | ICF | 1952 | Chennai | Passenger coaches |
| 5. | Rail Coach Factory | RCF | 1986 | Kapurthala | Passenger coaches |
| 6. | Rail Wheel Factory | RWF | 1984 | Bangalore | Railway wheels and axles |
[edit] Other subsidiaries
There also exist independent organisations under the control of the Railway Board for electrification, modernisation, research and design and training of officers, each of which is headed by an officer of the rank of General Manager. A number of Public Sector Undertakings, which perform railway-related functions ranging from consultancy to ticketing, are also under the administrative control of the Ministry of railways.There are eleven public undertakings under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways[12], viz.
- Rail India Technical and Economic Services Limited (RITES);
- Indian Railway Construction (IRCON) International Limited;
- Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (IRFC);
- Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR);
- Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL).
- Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC);
- Railtel Corporation of India Limited (Rail Tel);
- Mumbai Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (MRVNL);
- Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL); and
- Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL); and
- Bharat Wagon and Engineering Co. Ltd. (BWFL).
[edit] History
Main article: History of rail transport in India
[edit] Locomotives
Main article: Locomotives in India
Indian railways uses a number of different diesel-electric, diesel-hydraulic and electric locomotives. Steam locomotives were once very common but are now only used on heritage routes.[edit] Technical details
[edit] Track and gauge
Indian railways uses four gauges, the 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge which is wider than the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge; the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge; and two narrow gauges, 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) and 610 mm (2 ft) . Track sections are rated for speeds ranging from 75 to 160 km/h (47 to 99 mph).The total length of track used by Indian Railways was about 114,000 km (71,000 mi) while the total route length of the network was 64,215 km (39,901 mi) on 31 March 2011.[13] About 33% of the route-kilometre and 44% of the total track kilometre was electrified on 31 March 2011.[13]
In some regions with less traffic, the metre gauge (1,000 mm/3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) is common, although the Unigauge project is in progress to convert all tracks to broad gauge. The metre gauge had about 9,000 km (5,600 mi) of track length (7.9% of entire track length of all the gauges) and 7,500 km of route-kilometre (11.6% of entire route-kilometre of all the gauges) on 31 March 2011.
The Narrow gauges are present on a few routes, lying in hilly terrains and in some erstwhile private railways (on cost considerations), which are usually difficult to convert to broad gauge. Narrow gauges had a total of 2,400 route-kilometre on 31 March 2011. The Kalka-Shimla Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway are three notable hill lines that use narrow gauge.[14] Those three will not be converted under the Unigauge project.
Double decker AC trains have been introduced in India. The first double decker train was Flying Rani introduced in 2005 while the first double decker AC train in the Indian Railways was introduced in November 2010, running between the Dhanbad and Howrah stations having 10 coaches and 2 power cars.[15]
Sleepers (ties) coaches are made up of prestressed concrete, or steel or cast iron posts, though teak sleepers are still in use on few older lines. The prestressed concrete sleeper is in wide use today. Metal sleepers were extensively used before the advent of concrete sleepers. Indian Railways divides the country into four zones on the basis of the range of track temperature. The greatest temperature variations occur in Rajasthan.
[edit] Traction
As of 31 March 2011, 21,014 km of the total 64,215 km route length is electrified.[16] Since 1960, almost all electrified sections on IR use 25,000 V AC traction through overhead catenary delivery.[17][18] A major exception is the entire Mumbai section, which uses 1,500 V DC.[18] and is currently undergoing change to the 25,000 V AC system. Another exception is the Kolkata Metro, which uses 750 V DC delivered through a third rail.Traction voltages are changed at two places close to Mumbai. Central Railway trains passing through Kasara and Karjat switch from AC to DC using a neutral section near Kalyan. Western Railway trains switch power on the fly, in a section near Dahisar, where the train continues with its own momentum for about 30 m through an unelectrified section of catenary called a dead zone.[18] All electric engines and EMUs operating in this section are the necessary AC/DC dual system type (classified "WCAM" by IndianRailways).
[edit] Railway links to adjacent countries
Bhutan – railways under construction – Same gauge
Nepal – Break-of-gauge – Gauge conversion under unigauge project
Pakistan – same Broad Gauge. Thar Express to Karachi and the more famous Samjhauta Express international train from Lahore, Pakistan to Amritsar (Attari).
Bangladesh – Same Broad Gauge. The Maitri Express between Dhaka and Kolkata started in April 2008 using the Gede-Darsana route.
Myanmar – Manipur to Myanmar (under construction)
Vietnam – On 9 April 2010, Union Minister of India, Shashi Tharoor announced that the central government is considering a rail link from Manipur to Vietnam via Myanmar.[19]
China – Indian Railways and rail authorities in People's Republic of China are interested in constructing a high-speed rail link that would link New Delhi with Kunming, China via Myanmar.[20]
[edit] Services
[edit] Passenger
Reservation against cancellation service is a provision for shared berth in case the travel ticket is not confirmed.[22]
The last timetabled passenger service running under steam locomotive power ended in 2000, in Gujarat.[23] All current passenger service is provided using electric or diesel locomotives, except for the rack section of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) which still relies on Swiss-built X class steamers to do the job.
[edit] Types of passenger services
Trains are classified by their average speed.[24] A faster train has fewer stops ("halts") than a slower one and usually caters to long-distance travel.| Rank | Train | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duronto Express | These are the non-stop point to point rail services (except for operational stops) introduced for the first time in 2009 . These trains connect the metros and major state capitals of India and are faster than Rajdhani Express.These trains are now of the Highest Priority to the Indian Railways. The Duronto services consists of classes of accommodation namely first AC, two-tier AC, three-tier AC, AC 3 Tier Economy, Sleeper Class, General Class. |
| 2 | Rajdhani Express | These are all air-conditioned trains linking major cities to New Delhi. The Rajdhanis have high priority and are one of the fastest trains in India, travelling at about 140 km/h (87 mph). There are only a few stops on a Rajdhani route. |
| 3 | Shatabdi and Jan Shatabdi Express | The Shatabdi trains are AC intercity seater-type trains for travel during day. Jan-Shatabdi trains consists of both AC and non-AC classes. |
| 4 | Garib Rath | Fully air conditioned trains, designed for those who cannot afford to travel in the expensive Shatabti and Rajdhani Express. Garib Rath means "Chariot of the Poor". The maximum speed is 130 km/h. |
| 5 | Superfast Mail/Express | These are trains that have an average speed greater than 55 km/h (34 mph). Tickets for these trains have an additional super-fast surcharge. |
| 6 | Mail/Express | These are the most common kind of trains in India. They have more stops than their super-fast counterparts, but they stop only at relatively important intermediate stations. |
| 7 | Rajya Rani Express | These are a series of express trains operated by Indian Railways to connect state capitals with other cities important for tourism, pilgrimage or business. |
| 8 | Passenger and Fast Passenger | These are slow trains that stop at most stations along the route and are the cheapest trains. The trains generally have unreserved seating accommodation but some night trains have sleeper and 3A compartments. |
| 9 | Suburban trains | These trains operate in urban areas, usually stop at all stations and have unreserved seating accommodation. |
[edit] Suburban rail
Many cities have their own dedicated suburban networks to cater to commuters. The suburban networks in Mumbai, Chennai (Chennai MRTS and Chennai suburban railway), Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and Lucknow-Kanpur are part of the Indian Railways. Hyderabad, Pune and Lucknow-Kanpur do not have dedicated suburban tracks but share the tracks with long distance trains. Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore have their own metro networks (which are not part of the Indian Railways), namely the Delhi Metro( also runs in the cities of Gurgaon and Noida), the Kolkata Metro, and the Bangalore Metro, with dedicated tracks mostly laid on a flyover.
Metros are being planned and implemented in many Indian cities. Except for the Kolkata Metro, which is run by the Indian Railways, all the new metros (including the Delhi Metro, Bangalore Metro and Jaipur Metro) are being operated under the provisions of the Delhi Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act 2002, under the Ministry of Urban Development (including their safety certification).
[edit] Accommodation classes
In air-conditioned sleeper classes passengers are provided with sheets, pillows and blankets. Meals and refreshments are provided, to all the passengers of reserved classes, either through the on-board pantry service or through special catering arrangements in trains without pantry car. Unreserved coach passengers have options of purchasing from licensed vendors either on board or on the platform of intermediate stops.
The amenities depend on the popularity and length of the route. Lavatories are communal and feature both the Indian style as well as the Western style.
The following table lists the classes in operation. Not all classes may be attached to a rake though.
| Class[27] | Description[27][28] |
|---|---|
| 1A | The First class AC: This is the most expensive class, where the fares are on par with airlines. Bedding is included with the fare in IR. This air conditioned coach is present only on popular routes between metropolitan cities and can carry 18 passengers. The coaches are carpeted, have sleeping accommodation and have privacy features like personal coupes. |
| 2A | AC-Two tier: Air conditioned coaches with sleeping berths, ample leg room, curtains and individual reading lamps. Berths are usually arranged in two tiers in bays of six, four across the width of the coach then the gangway then two berths longways, with curtains provided to give some privacy from those walking up and down. Bedding is included with the fare. A broad gauge coach can carry 48 passengers. |
| FC | First class: Same as 1AC, without the air conditioning. This class is not very common. |
| 3A | AC three tier: Air conditioned coaches with sleeping berths. Berths are usually arranged as in 2AC but with three tiers across the width and two longways as before giving eight bays of eight. They are slightly less well-appointed, usually no reading lights or curtained off gangways. Bedding is included with fare. It carries 64 passengers in broad gauge. |
| 3E | AC three tier (Economy): Air conditioned coaches with sleeping berths, present in Garib Rath Trains. Berths are usually arranged as in 3AC but with three tiers across the width and three longways. They are slightly less well-appointed, usually no reading lights or curtained off gangways. Bedding is not included with fare. |
| CC | AC chair car: An air-conditioned seater coach with a total of five seats in a row used for day travel between cities. |
| EC | Executive class chair car: An air-conditioned seater coach with a total of four seats in a row used for day travel between cities. |
| SL | Sleeper class: The sleeper class is the most common coach, and usually ten or more coaches could be attached. These are regular sleeping coaches with three berths vertically stacked. In broad gauge, it carries 72 passengers per coach. Railways have modified certain Sleeper Coaches on popular trains to accommodate 81 passengers in place of regular 72 passengers. This was done in order to facilitate benefits like clear the Passenger rush and simultaneously earn more revenue. But this has got lukewarm response with criticism from the travellers and railways has decided to remove them. |
| 2S | Seater class: same as AC Chair car, but with bench style seats and without the air-conditioning. |
| UR | Unreserved: The cheapest accommodation, the seats usually made up of pressed wood, but the cushioned seats have been rapidly replaced. Although entry into the compartment is guaranteed, a sitting seat is not guaranteed. Tickets issued are valid on any train on the same route if boarded within 24 hours of buying the ticket. These coaches are usually very crowded. |
[edit] Train numbering
Effective 20 December 2010, the railways will deploy a 5 digit numbering system instead of the 4 digit system. The need is due to the fact that the Indian Railways runs 10,000 trains daily.[29] Only a prefix of the digit 1 will be added to the four-digit numbers of the existing trains to make the transition smoother. The special trains run to clear festivals and holiday rush shall have the prefix of 0 (zero)[edit] Notable trains and achievements
- The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a narrow gauge railway in West Bengal.
- The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a metre gauge railway in the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu
- The Kalka-Shimla Railway, a narrow gauge railway in the Shivalik mountains in Himachal Pradesh. In 2003 the Kalka Shimla Railway was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for offering the steepest rise in altitude in the space of 96 kilometre.[32]
- The Maharaja Railways (Gwalior Light Railway), a narrow gauge line of just 0.6m width from Gwalior to Sheopur of 198 km. in length is world's longest narrow gauge railway line is in the UNESCO world heritage tentative list.
- The Neral-Matheran Railway, a narrow gauge railway connecting Matheran is also a historic line.
- The Palace on Wheels is a specially designed train, frequently hauled by a steam locomotive, for promoting tourism in Rajasthan. On the same lines, the Maharashtra government introduced the Deccan Odyssey covering various tourist destinations in Maharashtra and Goa, and was followed by the Government of Karnataka which introduced the Golden Chariot train connecting popular tourist destinations in Karnataka and Goa. However, neither of them has been able to enjoy the popular success of the Palace on Wheels.
- The Samjhauta Express is a train that runs between India and Pakistan. However, hostilities between the two nations in 2001 saw the line being closed. It was reopened when the hostilities subsided in 2004. Another train connecting Khokhrapar (Pakistan) and Munabao (India) is the Thar Express that restarted operations on 18 February 2006; it was earlier closed down after the 1965 Indo-Pak war.
- The Lifeline Express is a special train popularly known as the "Hospital-on-Wheels" which provides healthcare to the rural areas. This train has a carriage that serves as an operating room, a second one which serves as a storeroom and an additional two that serve as a patient ward. The train travels around the country, staying at a location for about two months before moving elsewhere.
- Among the famous locomotives, the Fairy Queen is the oldest operating locomotive in the world today, though it is operated only for specials between Delhi and Alwar. John Bull, a locomotive older than Fairy Queen, operated in 1981 commemorating its 150th anniversary. Kharagpur railway station also has the distinction of being the world's longest railway platform at 1,072 m (3,517 ft). The Ghum station along the Darjeeling Toy Train route is the second highest railway station in the world to be reached by a steam locomotive.[33] The Mumbai–Pune Deccan Queen has the oldest running dining car in IR.
- The Vivek Express, between Dibrugarh and Kanyakumari, has the longest run in terms of distance and time on Indian Railways network. It covers 4,286 km (2,663 mi) in about 82 hours and 30 minutes.
- The Himsagar Express, between Kanyakumari and Jammu Tawi, has the second longest run in terms of distance and time on Indian Railways network. It covers 3,715 km (2,308 mi) in about 69 hours and 30 minutes. The Bhopal Shatabdi Express is the fastest train in India today having a maximum speed of 150 km/h (93 mph) on the Faridabad–Agra section. The fastest speed attained by any train is 184 km/h (114 mph) in 2000 during test runs.
- The third longest train in terms of distance on Indian Railways network is Dibrugarh - Yeshvantapur (Bangalore) Express covering 3,352 km (2,083 mi) in about 68 hours and 15 minutes.
- Trivandrum Rajdhani is the longest non stop train in on Indian Railways network covering 528 kms in 6.5 hours.
- Howrah - Amritsar express has maximum number of halts (115 halts) on Indian Railways network .
- The Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi Express are the superfast, fully air-conditioned trains that give the unique opportunity of experiencing Indian Railways at its best. In July 2009, a new non-stop train service called Duronto Express was announced by the railway minister Mamata Banerjee.[34]
[edit] Fares and ticketing
Fares on the Indian Railways across categories are among the cheapest in the world. In the past few years, despite a recessionary environment, the Indian Railways have not raised fares on any class of service.[35] On the contrary, there has been a minor dip in fares in some categories.Ticketing services are available at all major and minor railway stations across India. In 2003, Indian Railways launched online ticketing services through the IRCTC website.[36] Apart from E-tickets, passengers can also book I-tickets that are basically regular printed tickets, except that they are booked online and delivered by post. In July 2011, Indian Railways introduced Virtual Reservation Message (VRM), which allows passengers to display a screen-shot of the e-ticket through laptops/palmtops/Mobile-phones, instead of a printed E-Ticket.[37] According to comScore, the Indian Railways website was the top visited Indian travel site in April 2010, with 7.7 million visitors.[38]
[edit] Tourism
Main article: IRCTC#Tourism
IRCTC takes care of the tourism operations of the Indian Railways. The Indian Railways operates several luxury trains such as Palace on Wheels, Golden Chariot, Royal Orient Express and Deccan Odyssey,((Maharaja Express)); that cater mostly to foreign tourists. For domestic tourists too, there are several packages available that cover various important tourist and pilgrimage destinations across India.[edit] Freight
 | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2011) |
Indian Railways makes 70% of its revenues and most of its profits from the freight sector[3], and uses these profits to cross-subsidise the loss-making passenger sector. However, competition from trucks which offer cheaper rates has seen a decrease in the proportion of freight traffic carried by rail in recent years. Since the 1980s, Indian Railways has switched from small consignments to larger bulk goods which has helped speed up its operations. Most of its freight earnings come from such rakes carrying bulk goods such as coal, cement, food grains and iron ore.
Indian Railways also transports vehicles over long distances. Trucks that carry goods to a particular location are hauled back by trains saving the trucking company on unnecessary fuel expenses. Refrigerated vans are also available in many areas. The "Green Van" is a special type used to transport fresh food and vegetables. Recently Indian Railways introduced the special 'Container Rajdhani' or CONRAJ, for high priority freight. The highest speed notched up for a freight train is 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph) for a 5,500 metric tonne load.
Recent changes have sought to boost the earnings from freight. A privatization scheme was introduced recently to improve the performance of freight trains. Companies are being allowed to run their own container trains. The first length of an 11,000-kilometre (6,800 mi) freight corridor linking India's biggest cities has recently been approved. The railways has increased load limits for the system's 230,000 freight wagons by 11%, legalizing something that was already happening. Due to increase in manufacturing transport in India that was augmented by the increase in fuel cost, transportation by rail became advantageous financially. New measures such as speeding up the turnaround times have added some 24% to freight revenues.
[edit] Dedicated Freight Corridor
Under the Eleventh Five Year Plan of India(2007–2012), Ministry of Railways is constructing a new Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) covering about 2762 route km long two routes – the Eastern Corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni and the Western Corridor from Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva, Navi Mumbai to Tughlakabad/Dadri along with interlinking of two corridors at Dadri. Upgrading of transportation technology, increase in productivity and reduction in unit transportation cost are the focus areas for the project.[39] According to initial estimates, the project would cost20,500 crore (US$4.2 billion).[40]A new company, "Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited(DFCCIL)", designated as a `special purpose vehicle`, has been created to undertake planning & development, mobilization of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the Dedicated Freight Corridors. DFCCIL has been registered as a company under the Companies Act 1956 on 30 October 2006.[41]
New rolling stock would be acquired to meet the demands of the corridor which are
1. 1000 electric locomotives of 12000 and 9000 hp
2. 1000 diesel locomotives of 4500 and 6000 hp
3. 2,00,000 freight wagons of high capacity and 32 ton axle load
[edit] Rail budget and finances
As per the Separation Convention (on the recommendations of the Acworth Committee), 1924, the Railway Budget is presented to the Parliament by the Union Railway Minister, two days prior to the General Budget, usually around 26 February. Though the Railway Budget is separately presented to the Parliament, the figures relating to the receipt and expenditure of the Railways are also shown in the General Budget, since they are a part and parcel of the total receipts and expenditure of the Government of India. This document serves as a balance sheet of operations of the Railways during the previous year and lists out plans for expansion for the current year.
The formation of policy and overall control of the railways is vested in Railway Board, comprising the Chairman, the Financial Commissioner and other functional members of Traffic, Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical and Staff departments.
Indian Railways, which a few years ago was operating at a loss, has, in recent years, been generating positive cash flows and been meeting its dividend obligations to the government, with (unaudited) operating profits going up substantially.[42] The railway reported a cash surplus of
900 crore (US$182.5 million) in 2005, 14,000 crore (US$2.8 billion) in 2006, 20,000 crore (US$4.1 billion) in 2007 and 25,000 crore (US$5.1 billion) for the 2007–2008 fiscal year. Its operating ratio improved to 76% while, in the last four years, its plan size increased from 13,000 crore (US$2.6 billion) to 30,000 crore (US$6.1 billion). The proposed investment for the 2008–2009 fiscal year is 37,500 crore (US$7.6 billion), 21% more than for the previous fiscal year.[2] Budget Estimates-2008 for Freight, Passenger, Sundry other Earnings and other Coaching Earnings have been kept at 52,700 crore (US$10.7 billion), 21,681 crore (US$4.4 billion), 5,000 crore (US$1 billion) and 2,420 crore (US$490.8 million) respectively. Maintaining an overall double digit growth, Gross Traffic Earnings have been projected as 93,159 crore in 2009–10 (19.1 billion USD at current rate), exceeding the revised estimates for the current fiscal by 10,766 crore (US$2.2 billion).[2] Around 20% of the passenger revenue is earned from the upper class segments of the passenger segment (the air-conditioned classes).[43]The Sixth Pay Commission was constituted by the Government of India in 2005 to review the pay structure of government employees, and submitted its recommendations in April 2008. Based on its recommendations, the salaries of all Railways officers and staff were to be revised with retrospective effect w.e.f. 1 January 2006, resulting in an expenditure of over
13,000 crore (US$2.6 billion) in 2008–09 and 14,000 crore (US$2.8 billion) in 2009–10. Consequently, staff costs have risen from 44% of ordinary working expenses to 52%.[44][edit] Issues
See also: List of Indian rail incidents
Many railway stations are in a state of disrepair, especially when compared to stations in developed countries. Sometimes passengers are seen on trains hanging out windows and even on the roof creating safety problems.[45] The interior of many train compartments are poorly maintained and dirty. Although accidents such as derailment and collisions are less common in recent times,[46] many are run over by trains, especially in crowded areas. Indian Railways have accepted the fact that given the size of operations, eliminating accidents is an unrealistic goal, and at best they can only minimize the accident rate. Human error is the primary cause, leading to 83% of all train accidents in India.[47] While accident rates are low – 0.55 accidents per million train kilometre,[47] the absolute number of people killed is high because of the large number of people making use of the network.[48] While strengthening and modernisation of railway infrastructure is in progress, much of the network still uses old signalling and has antiquated bridges.[47] Lack of funds is a major constraint for speedy modernisation of the network, which is further hampered by diversion of funds meant for infrastructure to lower-prioritised purposes due to political compulsions.[48] In order to solve this problem, the Ministry of Railways in 2001 created a non-lapsible safety fund of 17,000 crore (US$3.4 billion) exclusively for the renewal of overaged tracks, bridges, rolling stock and signalling gear.[49] In 2003, the Ministry also prepared a Corporate Safety Plan for the next ten years with the objective of realising a vision of an accident-free and casualty-free railway system. The plan, with an outlay of 31,835 crore (US$6.5 billion), also envisaged development of appropriate technology for higher level of safety in train operation.[50][edit] Reforms and upgrades
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IR is in the process of upgrading stations, coaches, tracks, services, safety, and security, and streamlining its various software management systems including crew scheduling, freight, and passenger ticketing. Crew members will be able to log in using biometric scanners at kiosks while passengers can avail themselves of online booking.[54] Initially, various upgrade and overhaul work will be performed at more than five hundred stations, some of it by private contract. All metre gauge lines in the country will be converted to broad gauge (see Project Unigauge). New LHB stainless steel coaches, manufactured in India, have been installed in Rajdhani and Shatabdi express trains.[52] These coaches enhance the safety and riding comfort of passengers besides having more carrying capacity, and in time will replace thousands of old model coaches throughout Indian Railways. More durable and conforming polyurethane paint is now being used to enhance the quality of rakes and significantly reduce the cost of repainting. Improved ventilation and illumination are part of the new scheme of things, along with the decision to install air brake systems on all coaches. New manufacturing units are being set up to produce state-of-the-art locomotives and coaches.[52] IR is also expanding its telemedicine network facilities to further give its employees in far-flung and remote areas access to specialized medicine. IR has also piloted Internet connectivity on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express,.[55] It is estimated that modernisation of IR and bringing it up to international standards would require US$280 billion in new upgrades and investment from 2010 to 2020.[56]
Sanitation in trains and stations throughout the system is getting more attention with the introduction of eco-friendly, discharge-free, green (or bio-) toilets. Updated eco-friendly refrigerant is being used in AC systems while fire detection systems will be installed on trains in a phased manner. New rodent-control and cleanliness procedures are working their way into the many zones of IR. Central Railway's 'Operation Saturday' is gradually making progress, station by station, in the cleanup of its Mumbai division.
Augmentation of capacity has also been carried out in order to meet increasing demand. The number of coaches on each train have been increased to 24, from 16, which increased costs by 28% but increased revenues by 78%. The railways were permitted to carry 68 tons per wagon, up from the earlier limit of 54 tons per wagon, thereby cutting costs. The turnaround time for freight wagons was reduced from 7 days to 5 by operating the goods shed 24X7, electrifying every feeder line (this reduced time spent switching the engine from diesel to electric or from electric to diesel). Reducing the turnaround time meant that the Railways could now load 800 trains daily, instead of 550 trains daily. The minimum tonnage requirements were reduced allowing companies to unload their cargo at multiple stops.[57]
On 19 October 2011, The Real Time Train Information System (RTIS) project, GPS-based SIMRAN technology, was introduced by railway minister Dinesh Trivedi. RTIS will enable rail travellers to access train running information real-time on their laptops and mobile phones. It intends to provide passengers with latest information about train movement and other details. The RTIS project has been jointly developed by IIT Kanpur and Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO), with support from the HRD ministry.
Initially, RTIS will provide information only on Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains, their speed, delays, approaching station, coach position and other details. Presently Indian Railways starts RTIS in five pair of Rajdhani Express (12301/02,12305/06,12313/13,12951/52 and 12953/54) and one pair of Shatabdi Express (12303/04) on Pilot basis. Passengers can obtain train information by visiting http://www.simran.in, SMS by sending the train number to the mobile number 09415139139.
Railways had earlier decided to implement RTIS to track all passenger and freight trains. The work was approved in Railway Budget 2011 at a cost of
110 crore. The project is likely to be completed by December 2012.[58]
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