Rail Transport in India Notes With PDF

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Indian Railways: Key Facts

History & Inauguration

• The first railway line in India was opened in 1853.

Infrastructure & Technical Specifications

• Track Gauges:
  • Broad Gauge width is 5.5 feet (1.676 meters).
• Rolling Stock Production:
  • Diesel Locomotives: Manufactured at the Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), Varanasi.
  • Rail Coaches: Manufactured at factories in Kapurthala (Punjab) and Perambur (Integral Coach Factory, Tamil Nadu). A third factory was planned for Raibareli.
  • Wheel and Axle Plant: Located in Bangalore (Yelahanka).
• Materials:
  • Sal Wood is primarily used for manufacturing railway sleepers.
• Rail Tunnels (by length, descending):
  • Pir Panjal > Karbude > Nathuwadi > Berdewadi.

Railway Zones & Headquarters

• Correct Headquarters:
  • North-Eastern Railway: Gorakhpur
  • Eastern Railway: Kolkata
  • South-East Central Railway: Bilaspur
  • East Central Railway: Hajipur (Bihar)
  • North-Central Railway: Allahabad (Now Prayagraj)
• Incorrect Headquarters:
  • The headquarters of the South-Eastern Railway is not Bhubaneshwar (it is Kolkata).
  • The headquarters of the North Western Railway is not Jodhpur (it is Jaipur).

Major Routes & Projects

• Konkan Railway:
  • Runs through Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala.
  • It is the only rail route that cuts across the Western Ghats.
  • It does not connect to Belgaum directly.
• Notable Routes:
  • The shortest rail route from Mumbai to Gorakhpur runs through Jhansi.
  • The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (Siliguri to Darjeeling) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Future Projects:
  • India’s first bullet train is planned for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route.
  • Kerala was the first state to have a railway track made on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Special Trains & Initiatives

• The Fairy Queen, using the world’s oldest working steam locomotive, offers heritage and wildlife tours.
• The Indrail pass is a travel-as-you-please ticket, but it is not specifically for freedom fighters and sportspersons.
• The first Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) train was launched on the Rewari-Rohtak section.
• Among the Rajdhani trains, the one to Dibrugarh Town covers the longest distance.

Institutions

• The Railway Staff College is located in Vadodara.

Geographical Coverage

• Meghalaya is a state deprived of rail service.

Comparative Analysis: Road vs. Rail Transport

Reasons road transport received more impetus than railways post-independence include:

• The high associated capital costs of railways.
• The geographic spread of settlements makes it unrealistic for railways to serve all needs.
• Railways are not as conveniently accessible as road transport for the general population.
• Correction: It is not true that road transport per unit cost (tonne/km) is cheaper than rail; rail is generally cheaper for freight.

Know More About Rail Transport in India:

• Rail Transport in India – Old Year Questions
• Rail Transport in India One Liner Questions & Answers