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.
The Mumbai Suburban Railway consists of exclusive inner suburban railway lines augmented by commuter rail on main lines serving outlying suburbs to serve the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Spread over 450 kilometres (280 mi), the suburban railway operates 2,342 train services and carries more than 7.5 million commuters daily.
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.
Southern Railway (SR) is one of the eighteen zones of Indian Railways. It is headquartered at Chennai and operates across the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and the union territory of Puducherry. The origin of the Southern Railway can be traced back to the Madras Railway formed in 1845. Southern Railway was created on 14 April 1951 by merging three state railways, namely, the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway, the South Indian Railway Company, and the Mysore State Railway and became the first railway zone created in newly formed India. Southern Railway maintains about 5,081 km (3,157 mi) of railway lines and operates 727 railway stations. It has the distinction of operating the first railway line in India, which opened for traffic from Redhills to Chindadripettai in Madras on 12 September 1836.
The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata and the Kolkata Metropolitan Region in West Bengal, India. Opened in 1984, it was the first operational rapid transit system in India. Currently it is the second busiest and fifth longest rapid transit system in India. As of now, it has one fully operational, and three partly operational lines for a total of 59.38 km (36.90 mi). Two other lines are in various phases of construction and planning. The system has a mix of underground, at-grade, and elevated stations using both broad-gauge and standard-gauge tracks. It operates on a 750 V DC Third rail system. Trains operate between 06:50 and 22:40 IST and the fares range from ₹5 to ₹50.
Integral Coach Factory is an Indian manufacturer of rail coaches. Established in 1955, it is located in Perambur in Chennai and is the largest rail coach manufacturer in the world. It is owned and operated by the Indian Railways and is the oldest amongst the five rake production units of the Indian Railways. While the facility initially manufactured ICF coaches, it currently manufactures LHB coaches and electric multiple units including the semi-high speed Vande Bharat train-sets.
The Kolkata Suburban Railway is a suburban and regional rail system serving the Kolkata metropolitan area and its surroundings in West Bengal, India. It's network has 458 stations and a track length of 1,501 km (933 mi) making it the largest suburban railway network in the country, and also one of the largest in the world. There are five main lines and nineteen branch lines. It operates more than 1,500 services, carrying 3.5 million people daily and 1.2 billion people every year. It runs from IST 03:00 am until 02:00 am approximately and fares range from Rs.5 to Rs.25. The system is electrified with 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead line and runs on 5 ft 6 in broad gauge track. It has interchange stations with the Kolkata Metro at various locations.
The Chennai Suburban Railway is a commuter rail system in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, operated by the Southern Railways branch of Indian Railways. It is the second largest suburban rail network in terms of route length and the third largest in terms of commuters in India. Around 1,000 services are operated daily between 4:00 a.m. and midnight. It is the longest suburban circular route in India covering of 235.5 km (146.3 mi).
The Garib Rath trains are a series of no-frills trains operated by Indian Railways to provide air-conditioned train travel at a cheaper rate compared to regular trains. Garib Rath Express trains primarily operate on long-distance routes, connecting major cities and important railway stations across different states in India. These trains are designed to cover extensive distances, often traversing several hundred kilometers in a single journey.
Urban rail transit in India plays an important role in intracity transportation in the major cities which are highly populated. It consists of Regional Rapid Transit System, suburban rail, monorail, and tram systems.
Line 1 is a rapid transit metro line of the Kolkata Metro in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It consists of 26 operational stations from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash, out of which 9 of the stations are elevated, 2 are at-grade and the remaining 15 are underground. With a total distance of 32.13 km (19.96 mi), the line connects Dakshineswar and New Garia and uses 5 ft 6 in broad gauge tracks. This line was the first underground railway to be built in India, with the first operations commencing in October 1984 and the full stretch that was initially planned being operational by February 1995. On 28 December 2010, Kolkata Metro became the 17th zone of the Indian Railways. Being the country's first, and a completely indigenous process, the construction of the Kolkata Metro Line 1 was more of a trial-and-error affair, in contrast to the Delhi Metro, which has seen the involvement of numerous international consultants. As a result, it took nearly 23 years to completely construct around 15 km (9.3 mi) underground railway from Birpara up to Tollygunge.
Line 2 is a rapid transit metro line of the Kolkata Metro in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It currently consists of two distinctly operational sections from Salt Lake Sector-V to Sealdah, and Esplanade to Howrah Maidan by going underneath the Hooghly River. A future eastern extension from Sector-V to Teghoria is planned. It will cover a distance of 22 km (14 mi) and consist of 17 stations from Teghoria (Haldiram) in the east to Howrah Maidan in the west, of which it will consist of 11 elevated and 6 underground stations, and the operational section consists of 6 elevated and 6 underground stations, with a total distance of 13.1 km (8.1 mi). It is expected to derive a very high ridership, since it will connect India's two largest commuter railway and long-distance railway terminals, Howrah and Sealdah, along with two of its largest business districts, BBD Bagh and Salt Lake Sector V. At present, more than 100,000 passengers commute through the line every day, and this figure is expected to go up to 1 million after it gets fully completed by 2035. It will also connect the industrial hub of Kolkata, i.e., Howrah and the IT hub of Kolkata, i.e., Salt Lake Sector-V. It connects Line 1 at Esplanade and will eventually connect Lines 3 and 6.
Sealdah South section consists of a set of four lines which connect Sealdah in Kolkata with its southern suburbs and with the entire South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, India. It is a part of the Kolkata Suburban Railway and is under the jurisdiction of the Sealdah railway division of the Eastern Railway zone of Indian Railways.
Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) coach is a passenger coach of Indian Railways that is developed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany and produced by rail coach manufacturing units at Kapurthala, Chennai and Raebareli. They have been used since 2000 on the 1,676 mm broad gauge network of Indian railways. Initially, 24 air-conditioned coaches were imported from Germany for use in the Shatabdi Expresses, following which, the Rail Coach Factory started manufacturing after technology transfer. IR declared that all ICF coaches will be replaced by LHB coaches to provide more safety and comfort. The last ICF Coach was flagged off on 19 January 2018, making way for LHB Coaches to be used for all new coaches to be introduced by Indian Railways in the future.
The Silambu Super fast Express (20681/20682) is a train that runs between Chennai Egmore and Sengottai via Karaikkudi Junction. Initially it ran up to Manamadurai, later it was extended up to Sengottai. It was the only train in Indian Railways where LHB rakes were replaced by ICF coaches again. According to IR if a train gets new LHB coaches it won't be converted to ICF. But this train was again replaced with ICF coaches after getting new LHB rakes.
Line 3 is a rapid transit metro line of the Kolkata Metro in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. A 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi) stretch from Joka to Taratala of this line was inaugurated on 30 December 2022 and after extended to Majerhat on 6 March 2024. This line will span 15.08 kilometres (9.37 mi) from Joka in the south to Esplanade in the north with a future southward extension of 3.39 kilometres (2.11 mi) to Diamond Park from Joka. It will connect Blue Line at Park Street in central Kolkata and run in parallel with Blue Line up to Esplanade where it will connect with Green Line also. Line 3 is being built by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited.
Joka is the elevated southern terminal metro station on the North-South corridor of the Purple Line of Kolkata Metro in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The station is located in Joka. It will be the terminal station of the Kolkata Metro Line 3 till the phase 2 of the project. In phase 3, the line will be extended 2 km more, till Diamond Park. The station was commissioned on 30 December 2022.
The Sealdah–Bangaon line is a 78 km (48 mi) long broad gauge railway line that connects the Sealdah railway station of Kolkata with Bangaon of North 24 Parganas in the Indian state of West Bengal. Once a part of the old Calcutta–Jessore–Khulna line, today it is a busy suburban section of the Kolkata Suburban Railway. It is under the jurisdiction of the Sealdah railway division of the Eastern Railway zone of Indian Railways.
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.
The South Eastern Line of Kolkata Suburban Railway is a suburban railway line serving Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It consists of 37 stations from Howrah Junction to Midnapore. The entire line is at grade level. It has section of triple track starting from Howrah Junction and ends at Midnapore, Amta, Haldia and Digha stations in West Bengal.
