India beckons you to a new adventure, an adventure through varied landscapes, cultures and histories. Be a part of the scintillating diversity that is India and feel the joy of unraveling mysteries and discovering the simple pleasures of life.

The most pleasant mode of traveling through India is by train. The Indian Railways - the second largest railway system in the world, has over 62,300 km of track laid between 7000 stations and running 7000 Passenger Trains.

Today, it offers diverse tourist routes, magnificent hotels on wheels with five-star services and Indrail Passes, ideal for extensive trouble-free across the country. Do you hear the whistle? Do you hear the chug-chug on the railway tracks? Do you feel the rhythm of the moving train? Then hurry don't miss your train!

Railways planning to end ticket quotas

NEW DELHI, JUN 7: The indispensable last minute “quota system” which gets wait-listed tickets reserved, is set for a review. The railway ministry is planning to evaluate the present system of quotas and cut down on them wherever possible.

It plans to study the number of quotas with each station. It will then decide how it can juggle the quotas available with every station.

Rlys plan passenger facilities around stations

As part of its ambitious Rs 2,30,000 crore (Rs 2,300 billlion) outlay for the 11th Plan, Indian Railways plans to use space above platforms in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities to build passenger amenities by involving private players.

"Areas around stations and space above platforms could be commercially developed through Public-Private-Partnership.

The main objective should be to increase platform space by shifting major platform-level operational and passenger services to the first floor concourse level," the Working Group on Railways for the 11th Plan said in its report.

The Group, headed by Railway Board Chairman J P Batra, suggested that a special purpose vehicle be created, in which Railway Land Development Authority would put assets as equity while private partners could invest money as equity.

The face-lift of major railway stations could cover the entire length and breadth of platform areas to create world-class passenger amenities and services, it said.

The group said region or city-specific SPVs with private partnership should be established initially for identifying, project development and marketing of railway lines through competitive bidding to maximise revenue sharing.

Railways has planned an outlay of Rs 2,30,000 crore or Rs 2,300 billion (under the base case scenario) during 2007-12. This will include a budgetary support of Rs 95,000 crore (Rs 950 billion), internal resources of Rs 75,000 crore (Rs 750 billion) and extra-budgetary resource of Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion).

India to spend Rs 3,000 crore on Burma rail link

May 18, 2007 - India will spend about Rs 3,000 crores to construct a rail link with Burma to join the Trans-Asian railway network which will connect countries across Asia.
Indian Minister of State for Railways R Velu informed the lower house of parliament on Thursday that the missing link in India is from Jiribam in northeast India state of Manipur to Tamu in Burma.
"The construction of this missing link, as per the feasibility study conducted by the Ministry of External Affairs through RITES Ltd, is estimated to cost Rs 2,941 crore," Velu said.
Velu added that on this stretch, the Railway Ministry has sanctioned construction of a 97 kilomtere new rail link between Jiribam and Tupul near Imphal at a cost of Rs 727.5 crore.
The Indian government has approved the signing and ratification of the inter-governmental agreement on Trans-Asian Railway that was negotiated under the aegis of UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and was opened for signature during the ministerial conference on transport at Busan, South Korea, in November 2006.
The agreement defines and lists the railway lines of international importance, including the missing links, and lays down the guiding principles relating to technical characteristics of transport.
The 81,000 kilometre network stretches from Turkey and Iran in the west to Russia, China and South Korea in the north, Kazakstan and Uzbekistan in central Asia, and Vietnam and Thailand in South East Asia.
Velu, however, said, "The agreement does not estimate the total investment required on the network."

Train passengers asked to get out and push

Patna: Hundreds of rail passengers got more than they had bargained for when the driver of their train asked them to get out and push.
It took more than half an hour to move the stalled electric train 12 feet so that it touched live overhead wires and was able to resume its journey, officials said on Wednesday.
The incident occurred in Bihar on Tuesday after a passenger pulled the train's emergency chain and it halted in a "neutral zone," a short length of track where there is no power in the overhead wires.
"In so many years of service in the railways, I have never come across such a bizarre incident," said Deepak Kumar Jha, a spokesman for Indian Railways.
A train's momentum usually allows it to continue moving through neutral zones.
India's rail network carries more than 15 million people daily -- more than the combined population of Norway and Sweden -- but its safety record often comes in for criticism.

RAILWAY BUDGET 2007-08 WEBCAST UPDATE

Suburban rail projects will be completed on priority basis.

Rs 5000cr will be invested in Mumbai Urban Trans Plan.

6000 automatic ticket vending machines in next 2 years.

To expand capacity on 20000km of rail route.

Facilities of hand-held computers for on-spot reservations.

2nd class unreserved coach number will be increased from 4 to 6.

6000 automatic ticket vending machines will be introduced.

Development of 225 stations to be completed by March.

Freight corridor to begin this year, investment Rs 30000cr.

Tariff discount to increase high axle wagon production.

Rail tickets to be available at petrol pumps & ATMs.

Unreserved bogies will be having leather seats.

Construction of dedicated freight corridor to start in 2008.

800 new coaches. The cement freight traffic surged 30 per cent as compared to 25 per cent in the period April-December last fiscal.

Passenger traffic up 14% in Apr-Dec.

The Return on Capital Employed (RoCE) stands at 32 per cent and the interest surplus stands at Rs 10,227 crore.

Facilities of e-tickets will made available. MST tickets will be available through internet with easy recharge system.

Call center and SMS services may start soon.

Women above the age of 45 will get quota sleeper lower birth in A.C. and sleeper class compartments.

Students travelling for exam purpose will get 50% discount in second class sleeper birth.

Special arrangements for handicapped in all trains.

Milkman and other retail businessmen will have separate compartments in passenger trains.

Unreserved compartments will be increased.

Railway made high surplus without burden on common man.

In the current year we have increased 700 compartments to accommodate more passengers.

Railways made Rs.20,000cr profit in FY'07.

Rail budget starts amid chaos in the Parliament.

The outlay for the railways in the year 2006 was Rs 23,700 crore.

In the year 2006 the railways generated Rs 10,794 crore through internal generation.

Last year Shree Yadav declared "that the year 2006 will be the year of passenger service with a smile."

Last year passenger and freight rates were left broadly unchanged.

According to data, Indian Railways runs over 14,000 passenger and freight trains and carries 15 million people every day -- it is more than the population of Sweden and Norway combined.

"I have tried to address the interests of all sections of people. But if there are any shortcomings, people should tell me, I will try to remove them in future," Mr. Yadav said yesterday.

On the eve (Sunday) of the Rail Budget 2007, Lalu Prasad assured that people can expect a "good Railway Budget."

Rail Budget 2007-08 will be Lalu Prasad Yadav’s fourth consecutive Railway Budget.

Railway Budget 2007-08 will be presented by Railway Minister Sri Laloo Prasad Yadav in the Parliament on 26-Feb-07 from 12 PM IST onwards.

Railway Enquiry-Reservation-Seat Availablity-PNR Status

Plan your trip on Indian Railways Trains, Check Availability, Seats Availability, Reservation, Enquiry, PNR, Passenger Status, Travel by Indian Railways in ...www.indianrail.gov.in

Season Tickets Class Codes Quota Codes Booking Locations Travel Agents International Tourist Reservation Rules Refund Rules Break Journey ...

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The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) is a public sector company set up and fully owned by the Ministry of Railways. The IRCTC has been incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 and has its Registered Office at 9th Floor, Bank of Baroda Building, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 110001. This company has been formed to function as an extended arm of the Indian Railways to upgrade, professionalise and manage the catering and hospitality services at stations, on trains and other locations and to promote domestic and international tourism through development of budget hotels, special tour packages, information & commercial publicity and global reservation systems under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding between IRCTC Ltd. and Indian Railways dated 12.04.2002.You may contact us at : 1.For Doubts/Queries/Complaints/Appreciations regarding bookings/services
24 Hrs.Customer Support at 011-23345500, 011-23344787,011-23344773 or care@irctc.co.in

2.Ticket Collection Centre (available only at New Delhi)
Counter No 150 ,
New Delhi Reservation Office,
IRCA Building, Chelmsford Road,
New Delhi 110055.

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2.Registered Office / Corporate Office :

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd.,

9th Floor, Bank of Baroda Building,

16, Parliament Street, New Delhi 110001.

Tel: 011-23311263/011-23311264. Fax: 011-23311259
3.If you have any complaints regarding corruption & vigilance matters pertaining to our staff, you may contact :
Mr. Sanjay Goel,

Chief Vigilance Officer,

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd.,

9th Floor, Bank of Baroda Building,

16, Parliament Street, New Delhi 110001.

Tel: 011- 23311263/011-23311264. Email: cvoirctc@hotmail.com

No. Name Abbr. Headquarters Date established
1.Northern Railway NR Delhi April 14, 1952
2.North Eastern Railway NER Gorakhpur 1952
3.Northeast Frontier Railway NFR Maligaon(Guwahati) 1958
4.Eastern Railway ER Kolkata April, 1952
5.South Eastern Railway SER Kolkata 1955,
6.South Central Railway SCR Secunderabad October 2, 1966
7.SouthernRailway SR Chennai April 14, 1951
8.Central Railway CR Mumbai November 5, 1951
9.Western Railway WR Mumbai November 5, 1951
10. South Western Railway SWR Hubli April 1, 2003
11. North Western Railway NWR Jaipur Oct 1, 2002
12. West Central Railway WCR Jabalpur April 1, 2003
13. North Central Railway NCR Allahabad April 1, 2003
14. South East Central Railway SECR Bilaspur, CG April 1, 2003
15. East Coast Railway ECoR Bhubaneswar April 1, 2003
16. East Central Railway ECR Hajipur Oct 1, 2002
17. Konkan Railway† KR Navi Mumbai Jan 26, 1998

Tenders Download

A) Master copy of Tender documents : - Tenderers are free to download tenderdocuments at their own risk and cost and use the same as Tender Document for submitting their offer. Tenderers are advised in their own interest to purchase Tender documents to appreciate full scope of work , specification and drawing referred therein before submitting their offer. Later on, any omission or lack of clarity in the downloaded copy will not be taken as reason for submission of incomplete offer. Master copy of the Tender document will be available in the office. The agreement which will be prepared on awarding of work will be based on the master copy available in the office as notified in the Tender notice and not based on the Tender documents submitted by the tenderers. In case of any discrepancy between the Tender document downloaded from the website and the master copy, the later shall prevail and will be binding on the tenderers. No claim, whatsoever, on this account will be entertained.
B) Cost of Tender document:- Tender documents are available on CLW Website for Tenders - www.clwtenders.com / www.clwtenders.gov.in and the same can be downloaded and used as Tender document for submitting the offer. This facility is available free of cost at present. However, the cost of Tender documents, indicated in the notice in the relevant para, will have to be deposited along with the tender as per indication in the tender document. This should be paid separately and not included in the Earnest Money. Tenders not accompanied with the cost of Tender Document as detailed above, will be summarily rejected.
C) Railway administration will not be responsible for any delay / difficulty / inaccessibility of the downloading facility, for any reason whatsoever

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workshops of indian railway

Production Units, the manufacturing plants of the Indian Railways, are managed directly by the ministry. The General Managers of the PUs report to the Railway Board. The Production Units are

• Responsible for manufacturing all the mainline diesel-electrics used for passenger and freight traffic. The plant also produces diesel-electric shunters. Currently the factory is also producing locomotives in collaboration with GeneralMotors,USA. diesel locomotive works, varanasi
• Chittaranjan manufactures Electric Locomotives. Traditionally, the locomotives made by CLW use DC traction. In recent times, CLW has manufactures locomotives with AC-AC transmission. chittaranjan locomotive works, chittaranjan
• Earlier called Diesel Component Works, DMW makes key sub-assemblies for Diesel Locomotives. It also does heavy repair and overhaul of engines and locomotives. Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works, Patiala
• The first factory to make coaches for the Indian Railways. The coaches were monocoque structures. Integral Coach Factory, Chennai
• The second coach factory is a more modern plant and has a much more flexible automation. Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala
• Makes the cast wheels for wagons and other rolling stock. Axles are forged and machined in the same plant. Most output is sent out as finished and pressed wheel & axle sets. Wheel & Axle Plant, Bangalore
• Rail Spring Karkhana, Gwalior

goods train

Indian Railways makes 70% of its revenues and most of its profits from the freight sector, 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 freight traffic in recent years. Since the 1990s, Indian Railways has switched from small consignments to larger container movement 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 100 km/h (62 mph) for a 4,700 metric tonne load.

Suburban Rail

The New Delhi Metro railwayMany cities have their own dedicated suburban networks to cater to commuters. Currently, suburban networks operate in Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad and Pune. Hyderabad, and Pune do not have dedicated suburban tracks but share the tracks with long distance trains. New Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata have their own metro networks, namely the New Delhi Metro, the Chennai MRTS and the Kolkata metro, respectively.

Suburban trains that handle commuter traffic are mostly electric multiple units. They usually have nine coaches or sometimes twelve to handle rush hour traffic. One unit of an EMU train consists of one power car and two general coaches. Thus a nine coach EMU is made up of three units having one power car at each end and one at the middle. The rakes in Mumbai run on direct current, while those elsewhere use alternating current. A standard coach is designed to accommodate 96 sitting passengers, but the actual number of passengers can easily double or triple with standees during rush hour. The Kolkata metro has the administrative status of a zonal railway, though it does not come under the seventeen railway zones.

Passenger Service

Indian Railways operates 8,702 passenger trains and transports around five billion annually across twenty-seven states and three union territories (Delhi,
Pondicherry and Chandigarh). Sikkim is the only state not connected.
The passenger division is the most preferred form of long distance transport in most of the country. In South India and North-East India however, buses are the
preferred mode of transport for medium to long distance transport.
A standard passenger train consists of eighteen coaches, but some popular trains can have up to 24 coaches. Coaches are designed to accommodate anywhere from
18 to 72 passengers, but may actually accommodate many more during the holiday seasons and on busy routes. The coaches in use are vestibules, but some of
these may be dummied on some trains for operational reasons. Freight trains use a large variety of wagons.
Each coach has different accommodation class; the most popular being the sleeper class. Up to nine of these type coaches are usually coupled. Air conditioned
coaches are also attached, and a standard train may have between three and five air-conditioned coaches.
Overcrowding is the most widely faced problem with Indian Railways. In the holiday seasons or on long weekends, trains are usually packed more than their
prescribed limit. Ticket-less travel, which results in large losses for the IR, is also an additional problem faced.

Narrow Gauge

India has a substantial narrow-gauge network, most of which uses the 1 m (3 ft 33⁄8 in) gauge. There are some lines that use a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge, and a few that use 2 ft (610 mm) gauge. These are what are known in India as "narrow gauge" (as opposed to "metre gauge") lines. About 17,000 km of route are metre-gauge in India.

In 1999 the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (sometimes called the Darjeeling "Toy Train") was officially designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a 2 ft (610 mm) gauge narrow-gauge railway that runs from Siliguri to Darjeeling in the state of West Bengal in India. The railway travels through spectacular mountain scenery and uses several unusual civil engineering techniques to gain the necessary height including several switchbacks, and spirals including the famous double loop at Agony Point. The line was inspired by the earlier success of the 1 ft 111⁄2 in (597 mm) gauge Ffestiniog Railway in North Wales. Until recently all trains on the railway were powered by steam locomotives; however in 2001 two modern diesel engines were built for the line and now most trains are diesel hauled.

Advantages of narrow gauge

Narrow-gauge railways cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels and tighter curves. Narrow gauge is thus often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in heavy civil engineering work can be substantial. It is also used in very sparsely populated areas where the potential demand is too low for the building of broader gauge railways to be economically viable. This is the case in most of Australia and Southern Africa, where extremely old soils can support only population densities too low for standard gauge to be viable.

Disadvantages of the narrow gauge

Narrow gauge railroads generally cannot interchange equipment, particularly freight and passenger cars, with the standard gauge railroads they link with, unless they use variable gauge axles. The means that narrow-gauge lines have a built-in cost of transshipping people and freight to the mainline railway system. The cost of transshipment is a substantial drain on the finances of a small railroad because it involves expensive and time consuming manual labor or substantial capital expenditures. Some bulk commodities, such as coal, ore and gravel, can be mechanically transshipped, but this still incurs time penalties and these mechanical devices are often complex to maintain.

History of Indian Railways

A plan for a rail system in India was first put forward in 1832, but no further steps were taken for more than a decade. In 1844, the governer-generel of india lord hordinge allowed private entrepreneurs to set up a rail system in India. The first train in India became operational on 1851-12-22, and was used for the hauling of construction material in Roorkee. A year and a half later, on 1853-04-16, the first passenger train service was inaugurated between bori bunder, bombay and than. Covering a distance of 34 km (21 miles), it was hauled by three locomotives, Sahib, Sindh and Sultan. This was the formal birth of railways in India.

Soon various independent kingdoms built their own rail systems and the network spread to the regions that became the modern-day states of Assam, Rajasthan and Andra pradesh. A Railway Board was constituted in 1901, but decision-making power was retained by the Viceroy, lord curzon. The Railway Board operated under aegis of the Department of Commerce and Industry and had three members: a government railway official serving as chairman, a railway manager from England and an agent of one of the company railways. For the first time in its history, the Railways began to make a tidy profit. In 1907, almost all the rail companies were taken over by the government.

The following year, the first electric locmotive appeared. With the arrival of the First world war, the railways were used to meet the needs of the British outside India. By the end of the First World War, the railways had suffered immensely and were in a poor state. The government took over the management of the Railways and removed the link between the financing of the Railways and other governmental revenues in 1920, a practice that continues to date with a separate railway budget.

The Second world war severely crippled the railways as trains were diverted to the Middle East, and the railway workshops were converted into munitions workshops. At the time of independence in 1947, a large portion of the railways went to the then newly formed Pakistan. A total of forty-two separate railway systems, including thirty-two lines owned by the former Indian princely states, were amalgamated as a single unit which was christened as the Indian Railways.

The existing rail networks were abandoned in favour of zones in 1951 and a total of six zones came into being in 1952. As the economy of india improved, almost all railway production units were indigenised. By 1985, steam locomotives were phased out in favour of diesel and electric locomotives. The entire railway reservation system was streamlined with computerisation in 1995.

History of Railrways

In September, 1825, the Stockton & Darlington Railroad Company began as the first railroad to carry both goods and passengers on regular schedules using locomotives designed by English inventor, George Stephenson. Stephenson's locomotive pulled six loaded coal cars and 21 passenger cars with 450 passengers over 9 miles in about one hour.

George Stephenson is considered to be the inventor of the first steam locomotive engine for railways. Richard Trevithick's invention is considered the first tramway locomotive, however, it was a road locomotive, designed for a road and not for a railroad. Stephenson was extremely poor growing up and received little formal education. He worked in local collieries and was self-taught in reading and writing. In 1812, he became a colliery engine builder, and in 1814 he built his first locomotive for the Stockton and Darlington Railway Line. Stephenson was hired as the company engineer and soon convinced the owners to use steam motive power and built the line's first locomotive, the Locomotion. In 1825, Stephenson moved to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, where together with his son Robert built (1826-29) the Rocket.

Colonel John Stevens is considered to be the father of American railroads. In 1826 Stevens demonstrated the feasibility of steam locomotion on a circular experimental track constructed on his estate in Hoboken, New Jersey, three years before George Stephenson perfected a practical steam locomotive in England. The first railroad charter in North America was granted to John Stevens in 1815. Grants to others followed, and work soon began on the first operational railroads.

The Pullman Sleeping Car was invented by George Pullman in 1857. Pullman's railroad coach or sleeper was designed for overnight passenger travel. Sleeping cars were being used on American railroads since the 1830s, however, early sleepers were not that comfortable and the Pullman Sleeper was very comfortable.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, considerable interest developed in the possibility of building tracked passenger vehicles that could travel much faster than conventional trains. From the 1970s, interest in an alternative high-speed technology centered on magnetic levitation, or maglev. This vehicle rides on an air cushion created by electromagnetic reaction between an on-board device and another embedded in its guideway.