Summer Training Report
UNIVERSITY POLYTECHNIC
6 | P a g e
Introduction of Indian Railway
Indian Railways is an Indian state-owned enterprise, owned and operated by the
Government of India through the Ministry of Railway. The Railway Age dawned in
India on 16
th
.April 1853, when the first train ran from Bombay to Thana, a distance of
21 miles (33.81 km.) For some year before that the idea of building railway in India
had taken concrete shape with the court of Director of the East India Company in
London. The East India Company had obtained a foothold in India as a trading
company, but gradually lost most of it’s of its privileges it had enjoyed as an
instrument of commerce. It had however been made responsible for the governance of
India under the supervision of a court of directors in London.
The Final authority lay of course with the British cabinet, who acted on the advice of
its special Board of /control for Indian Affairs. There was a Governor General at fort
William in Calcutta, having superintending authority over the administration of India.
It is one of the world’s largest railway networks comprising 115,000 km of tack over
a route of 65,000 km and 7,500 stations. In 2011, IR carried over 8,900 million
passenger annually or more than 24 million passenger daily and 2.8 million tons of
freight daily.
Indian Railways is the world’s ninth largest commercial or utility employer, by
number of employees, with over 1.4 million employees. As for rolling stock, IR holds
over 239,281 Freight Wagons, 59,713 passenger coaches and 9,549 Locomotives. The
trains have a 5 digit numbering system. Since 1960, almost all electrified section on
IR use 25,000 Volt Ac traction through overhead catenaries delivery.
The first railway on Indian subcontinent ran over a stretch of 21 miles from Bombay
to Thana. The first passenger train steamed out of Howrah station destined for
Hooghly oh 15
th
august, 1854. In south the first line was opened on 1
st
July, 1856 by
the Madras Railway company.
The formation of policy and overall control of the railways is vested in Railway
Board. Comprising the chairman, the financial commissioner and other function
members of traffic Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical and staff departments