Rail transport in India consists of primarily of passenger and freight shipments along an integrated rail network. Indian Railways (IR), a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India, operates India's national railway system. It is the primary owner and operator of rail operations throughout the country including suburban rail in major metros.
Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a deparmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. As of 2023, it manages the fourth largest national railway system by size with a track length of 132,310 km (82,210 mi), running track length of 106,493 km (66,172 mi) and route length of 68,584 km (42,616 mi). As of August 2024, 96.59% of the broad-gauge network is electrified. With more than 1.2 million employees, it is the world's ninth-largest employer and India's second largest employer.
Shatabdi Express are a series of fast passenger trains operated by Indian Railways. Shatabdi Express are day trains and mostly return to their origin station the same day. The trains run at a maximum permissible speed of 110–150 km/h (68–93 mph) with the Rani Kamalapati–New Delhi Shatabdi Express achieving the maximum permissible speed of 150 km/h (93 mph) between Tughlakabad and Bilochpura Agra.
Indian locomotive class WAP-5 is a class of electric locomotives used by Indian Railways. The first ten locomotives were imported from ABB in Switzerland in 1995 and later manufactured by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works in India. On 3 July 2014, a WAP-5 set an Indian speed record by hauling a train between Delhi and Agra at a speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). The locomotive has regenerative braking, flexible gear coupling, wheel-mounted disc brakes, and a potential for speed enhancement to 200 km/h (120 mph). Braking systems include 160 kN (36,000 lbf) regenerative brakes, disc brakes, automatic train air brakes and a charged spring parking brake.
Indian Railways coaching stock consists of various travel class passenger coaches, freight wagons apart from specialized and dedicated coaching stock for other uses. Indian Railways operates India's railway system and comes under the purview of the Ministry of Railways of Government of India. As of 2022, it operates over 8000 trains daily with a inventory of 318,196 freight wagons and 84,863 passenger coaches. The rolling stock is manufactured by five units owned by Indian Railways, four public sector units and one private company.
Indian Railways operates India's railway system and comes under the purview of the Ministry of Railways of Government of India. As of 2023, it maintains over 108,706 km (67,547 mi) of tracks and operates over 13,000 trains daily. According to the Ministry of Railways, a route capable of supporting trains operating at more than 160 km/h (100 mph) is considered as a higher speed or semi-high speed rail line.
In Indian Railways, a MEMU is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train that serves short and medium-distance routes in India, as compared to normal EMU trains that connect urban and suburban areas. The acronym stands for Mainline Electric Multiple Unit.
India has a system of express trains, operated by Indian Railways which comes under the purview of the Ministry of Railways of Government of India. As of 2023, it maintains over 108,706 km (67,547 mi) of tracks, spanning across 68,584 km (42,616 mi) in route length, and operates nearly 3,000 express trains daily. According to the Ministry of Railways, express trains travel faster and have limited stops than ordinary passenger trains. Any passenger train with an average speed higher than 55 km/h (34 mph) is considered super-fast.
The 13147 / 13148 Uttar Banga Express is a daily non-superfast train that runs between Sealdah & Bamanhat via Dakshineswar, Barddhaman, Bolpur, Rampurhat, Malda Town, New Jalpaiguri, Jalpaiguri Road railway station, Falakata, New Cooch Behar & Dinhata. Uttar Banga Express was one of the two trains involved in the famous Sainthia train collision at Sainthia, West Bengal.
The Indian Government is undertaking several initiatives to upgrade its aging railway infrastructure and enhance its quality of service. The Railway Ministry has announced plans to invest ₹5,400,000 crore to upgrade the railways by 2030. Upgrades include 100% electrification of railways, upgrading existing lines with more facilities and higher speeds, expansion of new lines, upgrading railway stations, introducing and eventually developing a large high-speed train network interconnecting major cities in different parts of India and development of various dedicated freight corridors to cut down cargo costs within the country.
Antyodaya Express are a series of Superfast Express trains operated by Indian Railways. The trains were proposed to be overnight unreserved trains in the 2016 Railway budget of India. Antyodaya refers to the uplifting of the weaker section of a society. The coaches are designed by Indian Railways with features such as bio-toilets and dedicated power sockets.
The Vande Bharat sleeper trainset, formerly known as Train-20 is a semi-high-speed, long-distance electric multiple unit (EMU) train, designed to replace the Rajdhani Express. It is being developed based on the existing short-distance Vande Bharat trainset, differing in exterior body, sleeping berths, and onboard amenities due to its long-distance service.
Vande Bharat Express is a medium to long-distance superfast express service operated by Indian Railways. It is a reserved, air-conditioned chair car service connecting cities that are less than 800 km (500 mi) apart or take less than ten hours to travel with existing services and a planned reserved, air-conditioned sleeper service connecting cities that are 800 km (500 mi) to 1,200 km (750 mi) apart. The train was a part of the 'Make in India' initiative by the government and entered commercial service on 15 February 2019.
Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminal, Bengaluru railway station is an Indian Railways train station located in Baiyyapanahalli, Bengaluru in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the third intercity coaching terminal in Bengaluru after Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna and Yesvantpur Junction railway station. One of the first two Amrit Bharat Express originating terminating at this station starting from Malda Town railway station flagged off on 30 December 2023.
The Vande Bharat trainset, formerly known as Train 18, is an Indian electric multiple unit chair car trainset designed and developed by Indian Railways at its Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. The train achieved a maximum speed of 183 km/h (114 mph) during its trial runs but the operational speed of the train is restricted to 160 km/h (99 mph) due to tracks' inability to support such speeds.
The Amrit Bharat Express is a superfast express service operated by Indian Railways. It is a non-air-conditioned, low-cost, sleeper cum unreserved service connecting cities that are more than 800 km (500 mi) apart or take more than ten hours to travel with existing services. The trainset consists of two locomotives, one on either side and 22 coaches with a maximum operating speed of 110–130 km/h (68–81 mph). The train entered commercial service on 1 January 2024.
The 15557/15558 Darbhanga - Anand Vihar Terminal Amrit Bharat Superfast Express is India's 1st Non-AC Amrit Bharat Superfast Express train, which runs across the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi connecting the cities of Darbhanga and New Delhi's Anand Vihar Terminal via Raxaul, Sitamarhi, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, and Kanpur.
The 13434/13433 Malda Town - SMVT Bengaluru Amrit Bharat Express is India's 2nd Non-AC Superfast Amrit Bharat Express train, which runs across the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal by connecting the city of Malda Town in West Bengal with Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka.
The 22478/22477 SMVD Katra - New Delhi Vande Bharat Express is India's 37th Vande Bharat Express train, connecting the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and New Delhi. This will be the 2nd Vande Bharat Express train which will run on the New Delhi-Katra train line after 3 October 2019.
Namo Bharat Rapid Rail is a short-distance service that operates on an inter-city rail network to connect major cities within a distance of around 100–250 km (62–155 mi). RCF Kapurthala, had rolled out the first Basic Unit of Namo Bharat Rapid Rail in April 2024. This train is part of the 'Make in India' initiative by the Government of India and entered commercial service in September 2024.
