HISTORY OF INDIAN RAILWAY Type: Departmental undertaking of The Ministry of Railways, Government of India.

Founded: 26th April 1853 Headquarter: New Delhi, India. Area server: India Chairman, Railway Board: S. S. Khurana. Industry: Railways and Locomotives. Services: Rail transport. Revenue: Rs. 107.66 billion (US$19.13 billion). Employees: 1,406,430 (2007) Parent: Ministry of Railways, Government of India. Divisions: 16 Railway Zones, further divided into 67 divisions. Website : www.indianrailways.gov.in

INTRODUCTION India is the land of diverse culture and Indian Railways play a key role in not only meeting the transport needs of the country, but also in binding together dispersed areas and promoting national integration. Railways in India provide the principal mode of transportation for freight and passengers. The Indian Railways have been a great integrating force during the past 150 years and more. It has bound the economic life of the country and helped in accelerating the development of industry and agriculture. From a very modest beginning in 1853 it has played a vital role in the economic, industrial and social development of the country. The Indian Railways operates the worlds second largest rail network under a single management. The network runs multi-gauge operations extending over 63,327 route kilometres. In terms of infrastructure it operates more than 14,444 trains backed by 7,739 locomotives and 39,263 coaches. Thus it is one of the largest and busiest railway networks in the world carrying sixteen million passengers on a daily basis. It also carries more than one million tonnes of freight on a daily basis and with the employee strength surpassing 1.6 million is also one of the biggest commercial

employers and is only next to Chinese Army in terms of people recruited by it. The main characteristic of the Indian Railways is that it is an independent, corporatized, customer focused, and financially viable railway; run along commercial principles and subject to generally accepted corporate accounting principles and reporting. The Indian Railways Corporation (IRC) is responsible for managing railway assets and resources to meet the objectives of Indian Railways. The Indian Railway Executive Board (IREB) manages IRC and is responsible for restructuring process.The functions of the Indian Railways can be divided into core and non-core activities. # The core activities comprise transportation of freight and passengers (Running of trains and owning of assets). # The non-core activities comprises catering, running schools and colleges for the children of the railway staff, medical healthcare facilities for the railway staff production units and workshops, protection force for the safety of railway assets & maintenance of an exclusive telecommunications network etc.

History Indian Railways.... the golden Era 16th April, 1853...............The Beginning The novel plan for the introduction of a rail system, transformed the whole history of India. This innovative plan was first proposed in 1832; however no auxiliary actions were taken for over a decade. In the year 1844, private entrepreneurs were allowed to launch a rail system by Lord Hardinge, who was the Governor-General of India. By the year 1845, two companies were formed and the East India Company was requested to support them in the matter.

The credit from the UK investors led to the hasty construction of a rail system over the next few years. On 22nd Dec' 1851, the first train came on the track to carry the construction material at Roorkee in India. On September 22, 1842, British civil engineer Charles Blacker Vignoles, submitted a Report on a Proposed Railway in India to the East India Company.[1] By 1845, two companies, the East Indian Railway Company operating from Calcutta, and the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) operating from Bombay, were formed.

With a passage of one and a half years, the first passenger train service was introduced between Bori Bunder, Bombay and Thana on the providential date 16th Apr' 1853. This rail track covered a distance of 34 kms (21 miles). Ever since its origin, the rail service in India never turned back.

The British Government approached private investors and persuaded them to join the race with a system that would promise an annual return of 5% during the early years of operation. Once finished, the company would be transferred under the Government ownership, yet the operational control will be enjoyed by the original company. In 1880, the rail network acquired a route mileage of about 14,500 km (9,000 miles), mostly working through Bombay, Madras and Calcutta.

By 1895, India had started manufacturing its own locomotives. In no time, different kingdoms assembled their independent rail systems. In 1900, the GIPR became a government owned company. The network spread to modern day states of Assam, Rajasthan and Andhra

Pradesh and soon various independent kingdoms began to have their own rail systems.

In 1901, an early Railway Board was constituted, but the powers were formally invested under Lord Curzon. It served under the Department of Commerce and Industry and had a government railway official serving as chairman, and a railway manager from England and an agent of one of the company railways as the other two members. For the first time in its history, the Railways began to make a profit.. In 1901, a Railway Board was formed though the administrative power was reserved for the Viceroy, Lord Curzon. The Railway Board worked under the guidance of the Deptt of Commerce and Industry. It was comprised of three members - a Chairman, a Railway Manager and an Agent respectively.

For the very first time in its history, the Railways instigated to draw a neat profit. In 1907, most of the rail companies were came under the government control. Subsequently, the first electric locomotive emerged in the next year. During the First World War, the railways were exclusively used by the British. In view of the War, the condition of railways became miserable. In 1920, with the network having expanded to 61,220 km, a need for central management was mooted by Sir William Acworth. Based on the East India Railway Committee chaired by Acworth, the government takes over the

management of the Railways and detaches the finances of the Railways from other governmental revenues.

The period between 1920 to 1929 was a period of economic boom. Following With the Second World War, the railways got incapacitated since the trains were diverted to the Middle East ( the Great Depression, the company suffered economically for the next eight years). The Second World War severely crippled the railways. Trains were diverted to the Middle East and the railways workshops were converted to munitions workshops. By 1946 all rail systems were taken over by the government. On the occasion of India's Independence in 1947, the maximum share of the railways went under the terrain of Pakistan. The existing rail networks were forfeited for zones in 1951 and 6 zones were formed in 1952. With 1985, the diesel and electric locomotives took the place of steam locomotives. In 1995, the whole railway reservation system was rationalized with computerization.

GROWTH

Start of Indian Railways Following independence in 1947, India inherited a decrepit rail network. On the whole, 42 independent railway systems with thirtytwo lines were merged in a single unit and were acknowledged as Indian Railways & hence it earned the distinction of being one of the largest railway networks in the world.. About 40 per cent of the railways then passed through the newly independent republic of Pakistan. A large number of lines had to be rerouted through Indian territory, and new construction had to be undertaken. Underinvestment and unproductive management and

maintenance practices have sharply curtailed growth in route length. A total of forty-two separate railway systems, including thirty-two lines owned by the former Indian princely states existed at the time of independence spanning a total of 55,000 km. These were amalgamated into the Indian Railways.

In 1951, the rail networks were abandoned in favour of zones. A total of six zones came into being in 1952. As India developed its economy,

almost all railway production units started to be built indigenously. Broad Gauge became the standard, and the Railways began to electrify most lines to AC. In 1985, steam locomotives were phased out.

Under Rajiv Gandhi, reforms in the railways were carried out. In 1987, computerisation of reservation first was carried out in Bombay and in 1989 the train numbers were standardised to four digits. In 1995 the entire railway reservation was computerised through the railways intranet. In 1998, the Konkan Railway was opened, spanning difficult terrain through the Western Ghats. Few of the recent developments include construction of Calcutta Metro and Delhi Metro. History of Railway in India- Important Years

1832- Plans were proposed to introduce a rail network in India. 1844- Private entrepreneurs set up a private rail system in India. 1851- Trains became operational. 1853- Passenger trains were introduced. 1875- 95 million pounds were invested into Indian railways by British companies.

1895- Indian locomotives began to operate in the country.

1901- A Railway Board was established. 1907- The government obtained total control over most of the rail companies.

1908- First electric locomotive was introduced. 1947- 40% of the railway network came under Pakistan's possession.

History of Indian Railways- Important Years After India obtained independence from the British, the rail network in the country was christened as the Indian Railways.

1951- Nationalization of the rail system in India took place. 1952- Six railway zones were introduced. 1995- Steam locomotives became obsolete. Only diesel and electric locomotives were operational.

1987-1995- The Indian Railways reservation system was computerised.

Railways (Post Reforms) Post reforms in the 1990's the progress of the railways was not satisfactory. The Rakesh Mohan Committee report suggested that the railways needed a complete overhaul if any progress had to be made. Since it was not that easy from a political point of view, it was not given due importance by the inner circle in the railways. But with the appointment of Mr. Lalu Prasad in 2004 as railway minister, things changed dramatically. In the next five years the minister and his team worked out a strategy to bring about a complete turnaround in the working of the railway. Currently Mamata Banerjee has chalked out future plans for railways which seem optimistic and achievable.

The economic turn-around was a result of :

Higher freight volumes. Increased occupancy in passenger trains. Monitor costs and reduce tariffs.

The railways have managed to improve their market share and operating margins. The government has been credited with pursuing inclusive reforms, without comprising on the

social obligation. The railways have been applauded for improved customer service and for reducing passenger fares.

Some of the salient features of the reform are:

A well planned strategy to build around capacity generation through optimization of the existing infrastructure and assets.

Adopting a different approach to the social and commercial segment of the traffic.

Increasing the passenger carrying capacity of important trains. Improved operational efficiency meant the unit cost of operation reduced.

Dynamic and market driven tariff policy linked to seasonality and price elasticity of demand.

The policy of overhaul increase in freight rates has been replaced by a system of differential tariff based on market conditions.

Tremendous growth in traffic volumes, revenues and surpluses has proven the fact that the process of globalization has brought positive results for everyone concerned.

The Future Prospects

The railways have devised a planned strategy to remove bottlenecks and increase capacity to meet the demand. The key areas of focus would be up gradation of infrastructure, modernization of wagons technology, advanced signaling and telecommunication, induction of high horse power locomotives, grade separation and usage of information technology to decrease transit times and reduce unit operational cost. The railways also propose to construct state of the art passenger and freight terminals bench.

Over the next 5 to 10 year the government plans to give utmost priority to low cost, rapid pay back and high return investments with the view of speeding up works on doubling railway line, port connectivity, gauge conversion, signaling and telecom, renewal of assets and modernization of passenger terminals.

The government has initiated private investments in major stations to create world class passenger amenities and services.

There is an increase in demand for coaches. The government has proposed to meet the increase in demand partly through

increase in the capacity in the existing production units and partly by setting up a new manufacturing unit through a joint venture under Public Private Partnership (PPP).

The railways are also planning to build a super specialty hospital in Patna. If successful, the concept would be extended to other parts of the country.

HUMAN RESOURCE Human Resource Manpower is the most valuable asset in any organization, more so in IR which is highly labour intensive. The Indian Railways with a work force of nearly 1.5 million is one of the biggest employers in the world. To have the optimum output from the workforce, higher motivation level and stress free environment is to be ensured. Suiting the job requirements, skills of manpower have to be suitably developed requiring adequate attention in their training facilities. Organisational structure Indian Railways is a department owned and controlled by the Government of India, via the Ministry of Railways as on May 2009, the Railway Ministry is headed by Mamata Banerjee, the Union Minister for Railways and assisted by two ministers of State for Railways. Indian Railways is administered by the Railway Board,

which has a financial commissioner, five members and a chairman.

Indian Railways is divided into zones, which are further sub-divided into divisions. The number of zones in Indian Railways increased from six to eight in 1951, nine in 1952, and finally 16 in 2003. Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. There are a total of sixty-seven divisions.

Each of the sixteen zones, as well as the Kolkata Metro, is headed by a General Manager (GM) who reports directly to the Railway Board. The zones are further divided into divisions under the control of Divisional Railway Managers (DRM). The divisional officers of engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal & telecommunication, accounts, personnel, operating, commercial and safety branches report to the respective Divisional Manager and are in charge of operation

and maintenance of assets. Further down the hierarchy tree are the Station Masters who control individual stations and the train movement through the track territory under their stations'

administration. There are six production units (PUs) each headed by a General Manager (GM), who also report directly to the Railway Board.

The production units are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Chittaranjan Locomotive Works: Chittaranjan Diesel Locomotive Works: Varanasi Integral Coach Factory: Perambur (Near Chennai) Rail Coach Factory: Kapurthala Rail Wheel Factory: Yelahanka (Near Bangalore) Diesel Modernisation Works: Patiala

In addition to this the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE) is also headed by a GM. This is located at Allahabad.

This organisation undertakes electrification projects of Indian Railway and monitors the progress of various electrification projects all over the country. Apart from these zones and production units, a number of Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) are under the administrative control of the ministry of railways. These PSUs in Ministry of Railways are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Konkan Railway Corporation Indian Railway Finance Corporation Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation Railtel Corporation of India Telecommunication Networks RITES Ltd. Consulting Division of Indian Railways IRCON International Ltd. Construction Division Rail Vikas Nigam Limited

***Centre for Railway Information Systems is an autonomous society under Railway Board, which is responsible for developing the major software required by Indian Railways for its operations.

PERSONNEL The number of regular employees in Indian Railways as on 31.3.2007 stood at 1,406,430. The Indian Railways with such a work a huge workforce is one of the biggest employers in the world. To have the optimum output from the workforce, higher motivation level and stress free environment is to be ensured. Suiting the job requirements, skills of manpower have to be suitably developed requiring adequate attention in their training facilities.

Now when we talk about workforce, we are including both executives as well as labourers. The Management personnel (Groups A & B ) constitute up 1.1% of the total strength, while Group C and D account for 64.5% and 34.4% respectively. Of the employees in Group C and D, 4.44 lakhs (31.96%) are workshop employees and artisans and 9.46 lakhs (68.04%) from other categories including running staff. Railway Protection Force/RPSF personnel totalled 60,704. In the non-gazetted cadres, the ratio of Group C to D changed from 25:75 in 1950-51 to 65:35 in 2006-07, indicating a shift towards induction of skilled manpower.

PERSONNEL

Group A+B Group C Group D

Wage bill including pension etc. during 2006-07 was Rs.24,354.6 crores registering an increase of Rs.434.7 crores over the previous year. The average wage per employee was up by 2.6 % from Rs.1,69,770 per annum in 2005-06 to Rs.1,74,112 per annum in 2006-07. The ratio of staff cost on open line (excluding payment towards pension and gratuity) to ordinary working expenses (excluding appropriation to DRF and Pension Fund) was 46.7%. Recruitment and Training Indian Railways is the largest civilian employer in the world at approximately 1.6 million employees. 1200 officers form the line and staff management organisation. The recruitment of the Officers

(Group 'A' service) is done through the Indian Engineering Services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC); and also through the Special Class Railway Apprentices (S.C.R.A.) exam conducted by UPSC. The recruitment to Group 'C' and 'D' employees on the Indian Railways is done through 19 RRBs (Railway Recruitment Boards) which are controlled by the Railway Recruitment Control Board (RRCB). The training of all cadres is entrusted and shared between six centralised training institutes.

Recruitment and Training There have been dynamic change in the technology and modernisation, electrification, computerisation, mechanisation of track maintenance etc. are taking place at fast rate to meet the challenges of traffic requirements in Indian Railways. To meet the challenges of the changing environment, systematic manpower planning is essential. Therefore a category-wise analysis of staff should be carried out, to identify surplus and to arrange manpower in the areas of need. This adjusts the surplus in one category to other categories, where there is demand. Manpower planning ensures that the existing manpower is utilised to the maximum possible extent.

The Research, Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) at Lucknow is the research and development wing of the Indian Railways.It functions as a consultant to the Indian Railways on technical matters. It also provides consultancy to other organisations connected with railway manufacture and design. RDSO has been reorganized with effect from January 1, 2003 by elevating its status from Attached Office to Zonal Railway to give it greater flexibility and a boost to the research and development activities. Modernisation and Up gradation of Training Centres As main Training Centres have already been granted Rs.73.5 crores out of the SRSF for up gradation, remaining training centres, including Basic Training Centres spread all over the Indian Railways are also proposed to be modernized with provision of necessary infrastructure at an overall outlay of Rs. 220 crores (inclusive of allotment under SRSF). Modernisation of training centres would cover institutions imparting training of various disciplines viz. Civil, Mechanical, Signalling and Electrical Engineering etc. Special emphasis shall be laid on training of bridge engineers and supervisors on regular and

continuous basis, at least for next 5 to 6 years to adapt technologies appropriately. Following seven Centralized Training Institutes (CTI) cater to the training needs of railway officers:-

(i) Railway Staff College, Vadodara. (ii) Indian Railways Institute of Civil Engineering, Pune. (iii) Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering &Telecommunications, Secunderabad. (iv) Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Jamalpur. (v) Indian Railways Institute of Electrical Engineering, Nasik. (vi) Indian Railways Institute of Transport Management, Lucknow. (vii) Jagjivan Ram Railway Protection Force Academy, Lucknow

ISO certification In the long run it is desirable that all staff training centres and work centres would obtain ISO _ 9002 certification and the concept will be extended to all divisional control offices and stations and other work centres.

Promotion rules and procedure Over a period of time, a question bank containing objective type questions with multiple-choice answers covering the entire syllabus will be built up. Data bank containing questions covering the entire syllabus will be made available to trainees. At Training Centres, written examinations/test papers will contain objective type questions covering the entire syllabus in random order with multiple-choice answers. When any staff belonging to a safety category becomes overdue for periodic medical examination, refresher course or safety camp, he would not be permitted to continue on duty until he completes the stipulated training/examination. After recruitment, for initial training at ZTCs/STCs, pass marks may be upgraded. For promotional course training also, pass marks may be revised. Strength of staff and vacancies Staff requirement are proposed to be worked out afresh for zero-based assessment of manpower. Based on the exercise, sanctioned strength

of staff may be revised and made uniform. Concept of multi-skilling would be adopted. Categories having difficulties in filling up of promotional posts, existing AVCs may be revised. All Safety category vacancies would be filled up on urgency basis . Accountability for filling up of vacancies in safety categories will be clearly assigned at appropriate level.

Inspections To improve quality of inspections, detailed check list of various types of inspections would be made out and circulated. The quality and compliance of inspections would be made an important plank of the management tools. Special safety audits by multi-disciplinary teams would be intensified. A computer data base would be prepared at the Divisional and Zonal Headquarters to assess the efficacy of field inspections.

Safety critical checks would be conducted by all inspecting officials. Safety test checks will be intensified as vigilance-like powers have been given to the safety organisation. As the element of surprise and the opportunity to observe performance of staff under actual working conditions in the field is of prime importance, surprise inspections give an accurate indication of health of the particular unit. Surprise inspections would be intensified, specially between 0 hrs. and 4 hrs. at night. Test checking of inspections of subordinate officers. Maintenance depots and other activity centres would also be covered by night inspection. Periodical Safety Drives Certain activities in the railway working, which are seasonal in nature, are neither required to be performed by staff nor required to be checked by supervisors during the course of normal working for the most part of the year. It is for these kind of activities that safety drives are generally targetted.

Safety drives would be launched in order to correct a system failure, whenever detected. In the safety drives, all equipment that are to be attended would undergo a cyclic inspection before a particular season. Number, duration and contents of particular safety drives would be selectively decided to retain their focus and value. Safety Audit Inspections generally single out individual failures, safety audits are expected to identify system failures and generic shortcomings. Periodic safety audits would be undertaken at various levels for making an in-depth assessment of safety systems. These safety audits may be of many types viz, multi-disciplinary team from Railway Board, inter-Railway, multi- disciplinary headquarters team, interdivisional, etc. The main purpose behind conducting safety audit is to check only safety critical items and identify system failures or generic shortcomings. Railways will identify the worst sections on the divisions with unsatisfactory safety record. Teams would thoroughly audit different units pinpointing deficiencies including ancillary activities viz. staff

training, material supply, availability of funds, defective policies/rules etc. Safety audits would be carried out at a number of installations within the target area. To promote devotion, dedication and sincerity towards duties, Human Resource Development (HRD) Cells are proposed to be constituted at Zonal, Divisional Headquarters involving dynamic and knowledgeable supervisors to study : (i) Working habits of ground level staff

(ii) Factors leading to short cuts (iii) To reduce fatigue, minimize monotony and improve safety consciousness. Strengthening of Railway Protection Force To combat outside interference with railway installations like track and signalling equipments etc., it is proposed to equip Railway Protection Force/Railway Protection Special Force with specialized training, weaponry, vehicles and wireless communications and necessary backup support in terms of manpower and barracks. These

personnel will also help in guarding railway bridges, microwave towers, route relay cabins and track in identified vulnerable sections. Conclusion In our railway system, though the system of recruiting, training, placing or posting and promotion are inherited from the system of British Railways, yet manpower planning is given importance only in late 70s, which envisages making of quality human resource towards attaining the goals of the organization duly giving importance as a service organization for transporting of goods and passenger services to all sorts of the people across the country. Major Player

Monopoly of Indian Railways :

In economics, a monopoly (from the Latin word monopolium Greek language monos, one + polein, to sell) is defined as a persistent market situation where there is only one provider of a product or service. Monopolies are characterized by a lack of economic competition for the good or service that they provide and a lack of viable substitute goods.

Monopoly should be distinguished from monopsony, in which there is only one buyer of the product or service; it should also, strictly, be distinguished from the (similar) phenomenon of a cartel. In a monopoly a single firm is the sole provider of a product or service; in a cartel a centralized institution is set up to partially coordinate the actions of several independent providers (which is a form of oligopoly). Primary characteristics of a monopoly Single Sellers - A pure monopoly is an industry in which a single firm is the sole producer of a good or the sole provider of a service. This is usually caused by barriers to entry. No Close Substitutes - The product or service is unique in ways which go beyond brand identity, and cannot be easily replaced (a monopolyon water from a certain spring, sold under a certain brand name, is not a true monopoly; neither is Coca-Cola, even though it is differentiated from its competition in flavor). Price Maker In a pure monopoly a single firm controls the total supply of the whole industry and is able to exert a significant degree of control over the price, by changing the quantity supplied (an example of this would be the situation of Viagra

before competing drugs emerged). In subtotal monopolies (for example diamonds or petroleum at present) asingle organization controls enough of the supply that even if it limits the quantity, or raises prices, the other suppliers will be unable to make up the difference and take significant amounts of market share. Blocked Entry The reason a pure monopolist has no competitors is that certain barriers keep would-be competitors from entering the market. Depending upon the form of the monopoly these barriers can be economic, technological, legal (e.g. copyrights, patents), violent (competing businesses are shut down by force), or of some other type of barrier that completely prevents other firms from entering the market.

Price setting for unregulated monopolies

In economics a company is said to have monopoly power if it faces a downward sloping demand curve (see supply and demand). This is in contrast to a price taker that faces a horizontal demand curve. A price taker cannot choose the price that they sell at, since if they set it above the equilibrium price, they will sell none, and if they set it below the equilibrium price, they will have an infinite number of buyers (and be making less money than they could if they sold at the equilibrium price). In contrast, a business with monopoly power can choose the price they want to sell at. If they set it higher, they sell less. If they set it lower, they sell more. In most real markets with claims, falling demand associated with a price increase is due partly to losing customers to other sellers and partly to customers who are no longer willing or able to buy the product. In a

pure monopolymarket, only the latter effect is at work, and so, particularly for inflexible commodities such as medical care, the drop in units sold as prices rise may be much less dramatic than one might expect. If a monopoly can only set one price it will set it where marginal cost (MC) equals marginal revenue (MR) as seen on the diagram on the right. This can be seen on a big supply and demand diagram for many criticism of monopoly. This will be at the quantity Qm; and at the price Pm. This is above the competitive price of Pc and with a smaller quantity than the competitive quantity of Qc. The offensive monopoly gains is the shaded in area labeled profit (note that this diagram looks only at the case where there is no fixed cost. If there were a fixed cost, the average cost curve should be used instead). As long as the price elasticity of demand (in absolute value) for most customers is less than one, it is very advantageous to increase the price: the seller gets more money for less goods. With an increase of the price, the price elasticity tends to rise, and in the optimum mentioned above it will be above one for most customers. A formula gives the relation between price, marginal cost of production and demand elasticity which maximizes a monopoly profit: (known as Lerner index). The monopolists monopoly power is given by the vertical distance between the point where the marginal cost curve (MC) intersects with the marginal revenue curve (MR) and the demand curve. The

longer the vertical distance, (the more inelastic the demand curve) the bigger the monopoly power, and thus larger profits. The economy as a whole loses out when monopoly power is used in this way, since the extra profit earned by the firm will be smaller than the loss in consumer surplus. This difference is known as a deadweight loss. Suburban rail Many cities have their own dedicated suburban networks to cater to commuters. Currently, suburban networks operate in Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Delhi, Lucknow, H yderabad and Pune. Hyderabad, Mumbai 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.The Suburban trains in Mumbai handle more rush than any other suburban network in India. The network has three lines viz, western, central and harbour. Its considered to be the lifeline on Mumbai. Delhi Metro has been one of the recent additions in the suburban rail services systems available today in India.

Kolkata Metro

Info Locale Transit type Number of lines Number of stations Operation Began operation Operator(s) Technical System length Track gauge 16.5 km Broad Gauge 1984 Metro Railway, Kolkata Kolkata, India Rapid transit 1 17

KOLKATA METRO

The Kolkata Metro or Calcutta Metro is the underground rail network in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. It is considered to have the status of a zonal railway . It is run by the Indian Railways. It was the first underground railway to be built in India, with operations starting in 1984; the New Delhi Metro, which opened in 2002, is the second. The line runs from Dum Dum in the north and continues south through Park Street,Esplanade in the heart of the city till the southern end to Tollygunge. The burgeoning transport problem of Kolkata drew the attention of the city planners, the State Government and also the Government of India. It was soon realised that something had to be done and done quickly to cope with the situation

A survey was done by a team of French experts without any concrete results. Efforts to solve the problem by augmenting the existing fleet of public transport vehicles barely touched the fringe of the problem as the roads account for only 4.2% of the surface area in Calcutta, compared to 25% in Delhi and even 30% in other cities.[

With a view to finding an alternative solution, the Metropolitan Transport Project (Rlys)(i.e., Railways) was set up in 1969. After detailed studies, the MTP (Rlys) came to the conclusion that there was no other alternative but to construct a Mass Rapid Transit System. The MTP (Rlys) had prepared a Master Plan in 1971 envisaging construction of five rapid-transit lines for the city of Kolkata, totalling a route length of 97.5 km.

Of these, the highest priority was given to the busy North-South axis between Dum Dum and Tollygunge over a length of 16.45 km, and the work on this project was sanctioned on June 1, 1972. The foundation stone of the project was laid by Smt. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, on December 29, 1972, and the construction work started in 1973.

Delhi Metro

Much of Delhi Metro runs on elevated tracks along road medians The Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system in the Indian city of Delhi that was built and is operated by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC).

The first section of the Delhi Metro was opened on December 24, 2002. It became the second underground rapid transit system in India, after Kolkata. The Delhi Metro has a combination of elevated, at-grade and underground lines. The Delhi Metro has won numerous awards for its environmentally friendly practices from many renowned organisations including the United Nations, RINA, and ISO. Delhi Metro was the first metro in the world to be ISO 14001 certified for environmentally friendly construction. The concept of a metro for Delhi was first formalized in the Delhi Master Plan of 1960, and the legal framework for the metro was laid out in the Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act of 1978. Actual work towards building the metro, however, only started in March 5,1995, when the DMRC was established. After the previous problems experienced by the Calcutta Metro, which was badly delayed and 12 times over budget due to "political meddling, technical problems and bureaucratic delays", the DMRC was given full powers to hire people, decide on tenders and control funds.

Mumbai Suburban Railway

The Mumbai

Suburban

Railway

system,

part

of

the public

transportation system of Mumbai, is provided for by the staterun Indian Railways' two zone Western Railways and Central

Railways. The system carries more than 6.6 million commuters on a daily basis and constitutes more than half of the total daily passenger capacity of the Indian Railways itself. It has one of the highest passenger densities of any urban railway system in the world. The trains plying on its routes are commonly referred to as local trains or simply as locals by the general populace. The Mumbai Suburban Railway, as well as Indian Railways, are an offshoot of the first railway to be built by the British in India in April 1853. This was also the oldest railway system in Asia. The first train ran between Mumbai and Thane, a distance of 34 km. The Bombay Railway History Group[1] has been striving to document railway heritage along this line. Given the geographical spread of the population and location of business areas, the rail network is the principal mode of mass transport in Mumbai. A metro system and a monorail system are under construction to ease the travelling conditions in the Suburban network.

Passenger services

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.

Production Services

The interior of an Express Train in India. Food is being served by an Indian Railways employee The Indian Railways manufactures a lot of its rolling stock and heavy engineering components. This is largely due to historical reasons. As with most developing economies, the main reason is import substitution of expensive technology related products. This was relevant when the general state of the national engineering industry was immature. 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,Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi 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 General Motors, USA. Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Chittaranjan manufactures Electric Locomotives. Traditionally, the locomotives made by CLW use DC traction. In recent times, CLW has manufactures locomotives with AC-AC transmission. Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works, Patiala-Earlier called Diesel Component Works, DMW makes key sub-assemblies for Diesel Locomotives. It also does heavy repair and overhaul of engines and locomotives. Integral Coach Factory, Chennai-The first factory to make coaches for the Indian Railways. The coaches were monocoque structures. Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala-The second coach factory is a more modern plant and has a much more flexible automation. Wheel & Axle Plant, Bangalore-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.

Performance The performance of Production Units during 2004-05, was as under,

Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Chittaranjan manufactured 90 BG electric locomotives including 22 state-of-the-art 3-phase 6000 HP electric locos.

Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi produced 121 BG diesel locomotives including 15 indigenous high power 4000 HP GM locomotives. In addition, 4 diesel locomotives were supplied to Non Railway Customers.

Integral Coach Factory, Chennai manufactured 1,119 coaches including 112 Electric Multiple Units (EMUs).

Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala manufactured 1,201 coaches including 77 light weight LHB coaches with higher passenger comfort and amenities.

Rail Wheel Factory, Bangalore produced 32,732 wheel-sets. It also manufactured 95,125 wheels and 49,502 axles. It sold products to the tune of Rs.18.39 crore to NCRs thus earning a profit of approx. Rs.173.69 lakh.

Budget and Finances The Railway Budget deals with planned infrastructure expenditure on the railways as well as with the operating revenue and expenditure for the upcoming fiscal years, the public elements of which are usually the induction and improvement of existing trains and routes, planned investment in new and existing infrastructure elements, and the tariff for freight and passenger travel.

The Parliament discusses the policies and allocations proposed in the budget. The budget needs to be passed by a simple majority in the Lok Sabha (Lower House). The comments of the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) are nonbinding. Indian Railways is subject to the same audit control as other government revenue and expenditures. Based on anticipated traffic and the projected tariff, requirement of resources for capital and revenue expenditure of railways is worked out. While the revenue expenditure is met entirely by railways itself, the shortfall in the capital (plan) expenditure is met partly from borrowings (raised by Indian Railway Finance Corporation) and the rest from Budgetary support from the Central Government. Indian Railways pays dividend to the Central Government for the capital invested by the Central Government.

As per the Separation Convention (on the recommendations of the Acworth Committee), 1924, the Railway Budget is presented to the Parliament by the Union Railway Minister, two days prior to the General Budget, usually around 26th February. Though the Railway Budget is separately presented to the Parliament, the figures relating to the receipt and expenditure of the Railways are also shown in the General Budget, since they are a part and parcel of the total receipts and expenditure of the Government of India. This document serves as a balance sheet of operations of the Railways during the previous year and lists out plans for expansion for the current year. The formation of policy and overall control of the railways is vested in Railway Board, comprising the Chairman, the Financial

Commissioner and other functional members of Traffic, Engineering, Mechanical, Electrical and Staff departments. Indian Railways, which a few years ago was operating at a loss, has, in recent years, been generating positive cash flows and been meeting its dividend obligations to the government. The railway reported a cash surplus of INR 9000 cr in 2005, INR 14000 cr in 2006, INR 20,000 cr in 2007 and INR 25,000 cr for the 2007-2008 fiscal year. Its operating ratio improved to 76% while, in the last four years,

its plan size increased from INR 13,000 cr to INR 30,000 cr. The proposed investment for the 2008-2009 fiscal year is INR 37,500 cr, 21% more than for the previous fiscal year.[2] Budget Estimates-2008 for Freight, Passenger, Sundry other Earnings and other Coaching Earnings have been kept at INR 52,700 cr, INR 21,681 cr, INR 5,000 cr and INR 2,420 cr respectively. Maintaining an overall double digit growth, Gross Traffic Earnings have been projected as INR 93,159 crore in 2009-10 (19.1 billion USD at current rate), exceeding the revised estimates for the current fiscal by INR 10,766 crore. Around 20% of the passenger revenue is earned from the upper class segments of the passenger segment (the air-conditioned classes). On 3rd July 2009 Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee presented the Railway Budget 2009-2010, which included many improvements. The Ministry of Railways in India is in charge of the Indian Railways, the state-owned company that enjoys a monopoly in Rail transport in India. The Railway Board which is the apex body of the Indian Railways reports to this ministry. Shri. S.S.Khurana took over as the Chairman of the Railway Board recently.

Thanks to historical reasons, the Ministry of Railways presents a budget separate from the general budget of India. The practice started in 1924. At that time, the Railway Budget formed about 70% of the country's budget. So separating it out allowed better focus on each budget's priorities. The Railway Budget now is less than 15% of the national budget. Though the Railway budget can no longer be justified as a separate budget presentation, it is still watched eagerly as the annual fare and tariff setting event. It was in the historic year of 1921, when the recommendation of the Acworth Committee ratified through the Resolution for separation in 1924 when for the first time the Indian Railway finances were separated from the General Finances. This segregation of Railway Finances together with acceptance in principle at least of the responsibility for the direct operation of its Railways was a watershed moment in the history of Railways as a whole. With the recommendations not only was the segregation of Railway Finance clearly established, but the office of the Financial Commissioner was envisaged in an embryonic manner, and accordingly, the first Financial Commissioner was appointed on 1st April 1923. The necessity of such an appointment was thus

emphasized by the Acworth Committee, The large financial responsibility of the department being perhaps sufficient justification in itself for the addition to the organization of a member competent to advise on the questions of great financial magnitude. Accordingly, from 1st April 1929, the responsibility for the compilation of accounts for the Railways was taken over by the Financial Commissioner, Railways from the Auditor General. The Accounts organisation was thus brought under the control of the Financial Commissioner, Railways, and the Indian Railway Accounts Service was constituted simultaneously.

Budgetary Details A. Budget Terms

1. Budget Estimates.Every Railway Administration has to prepare estimates of expenditure expected to be incurred by it in a year and submit them on prescribed dates well in advance of the beginning of that year to the Railway Board for obtaining the sanction of the Parliament or the President. Such estimates are called '" Budget Estimates ".

2. Demands for Grants.On the basis of the Budget Estimates received from the various Railway Administrations and other spending units, the Railway Board prepare their " Demand for Grants " and present them to the Parliament or the President, as the case may be, for sanction.

3. Grants and Appropriations.The ' Demands for Grants ' as finally approved by the Parliament are called the Budget ' Grants ' and those sanctioned by the President without reference to the Parliament are called ' Appropriations '.

4. (i) Budget Orders and Allotments.The Railway Grants and Appropriations for a year are distributed by the Railway Board to the various Railway Administrations and other spending units directly under the Railway Board through what are known as ' Budget Orders'. The Budget Orders are accompanied by the Budget Documents.

(ii) The Grants and Appropriations distributed to the various Divisions and spending units are called Budget ' Allotments '.

5. Re-appropriation.The transfer of funds originally assigned for expenditure on a specific object to supplement the funds sanctioned for another object is called " Re-appropriation ". The powers of the Railway Board and Railway Administration in respect of reappropriation are detailed in Chapter III of the Indian Railway Financial Code Volume I (extracts at Annexure ' 11 '). 6. Review of Expenditure.The sufficiency or otherwise of the sanctioned budget allotments shall be reviewed periodically by each Railway Administration on the basis of expenditure actually incurred upto the time of review and the anticipated expenditure during the

remaining portion of the financial year. The detailed procedure in regard to review of Expenditure is contained in Chapter III of the Indian Railway Financial Code, Volume I (extracts at Annexure ' 12 ').

B. Demands for Grants.All revenue working expenses of the Railway are classified under 13 sub major heads with separate abstract for each sub major head. The sub major heads are divided into minor, sub and detailed heads as detailed in Volume II of the Indian Railway Financial Code

Estimates for Working Expenses or Revenue Budget C. Works, Machinery and Rolling Stock Budget Detailed instructions for preparation and submission of Works, Machinery and Rolling Stock Budget are contained in Chapter III of Indian Railway Financial Code, Volume I). The classification of expenditure by primary units of expenditure are contained in Volume II of the Financial Code. Frequently Asked Railway Budget Questions: Is it necessary to have a separate budget for the Railways ? The Indian Railways is one of several arms of the government. It is like any other government department engaged in commercial activity (such as telecommunications, posts and telegraph). There is a ministry of railways, headed by a minister answerable to Parliament. The fund requirements of the Indian Railways are mentioned in the annual financial statement tabled in Parliament in pursuance of Article 112. Also, Article 114 dealing with the Appropriations Bill applies to the Indian Railways. Strictly speaking, there is no constitutional

requirement for a separate Rail Budget. All the mandatory things which the Rail Budget seeks to do can be done by the Union Budget. Why then do we need a separate Rail Budget? First, owing to tradition. railway finances were separated from general finances in the government budget of 1924. The Railway Board was expanded to have a financial commissioner in pursuance of a resolution, popularly known as the Separation Convention, adopted by the then Central Legislative Assembly. The first Railway Budget was presented in 1925. The second reason for a separate Rail Budget is the scale of operations and quantum of funds involved. The network of Indian Railways covers 63,000 km of rail route. It runs around 15,000 trains everyday and is of great strategic importance for the nation. What does the Rail Budget seek to do? Like any other budget, it too seeks to align receipts and expenditure, and also find resources for the modernisation of the organisation, keeping in view future requirements. In addition to meeting the operating expenses, the Rail Budget will be required to find resources for the Integrated Railway Modernisation Plan (2005-2010), estimated

to cost Rs 24,000 crore, spread over five years. As a major portion of the funds will flow to the Railways in the form of borrowings and support from the Union Budget, the Railways will need to generate adequate resources for servicing the inflows. What are the main sources of earnings for the Railways? The two basic sources are freight charges and passenger fares. The Railways also generates some income from other operations, but it is neither significant nor related to the core operations of the organisation. The Railways generates a bulk of its revenue by transporting goods. During 2005-06, it was expected to earn Rs 33,480 crores as freight charges. The target is likely to be exceeded. From passenger traffic, the Railways is estimated to earn Rs 15,080 crore, which is almost half the amount it earns from freight. Although the Railways earns more from freight, it accords greater focus to passenger services. What is cross-subsidy? The practice of undercharging from passengers, especially at the lower end of the spectrum, and overcharging on freight transport is broadly called cross subsidisation. Basically, it means that freight is

overcharged to make up for losses on account of low realisation from passenger fares. While the Railways does so to make a journey affordable to a larger number of people, the industry feels the heat, as higher freight charges make manufactured goods dearer. Railway minister will have to balance the expectations of the two sections of rail users. What is operating ratio? It is a standard measure for judging the financial health of the Railways. What it means is how many units the Railways spends to earn 100 units. In the Indian context, it would mean the rupees needed by the Indian Railways to earn Rs 100. The lower the ratio, the better the health of the Railways. The Indian Railways operating ratio has been decreasing after touching an alarming high of 98.3% in 2000-01. It is expected to improve from 91.2% (March 2005) to 90.8% at the end of the current fiscal. It would be the lowest operating ratio in the last eight years. In the recent past, the best operating ratio, of 82.5%, was witnessed in 1995-96.

PRODUCT PROFILE

Notable trains and achievements The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is a World Heritage Site, and one of the few steam engines in operation in India.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a narrow gauge train with a steam locomotive is classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The route starts at Siliguri in the plains in West Bengal and traverses tea gardens en route toDarjeeling, a hill station at an elevation of 2,134 metres (7,000 ft). The highest station in this route is Ghum. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, in theNilgiri Hills in southern India, is also classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

It is also the only rack railway in India. The Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) railway station in Mumbai is another World Heritage Site Operated by IR.

The Rajdhani Express is a series of trains that journey to and from the Capital New Delhi. Shown here are two Rajdhani Trains approaching each other

The Palace on Wheels is a specially designed train, lugged by a steam engine, for promoting tourism in Rajasthan. The Maharashtra government did try and introduce the Deccan Odyssey along

the Konkan route, but it did not enjoy the same success as the Palace on Wheels. The Samjhauta Expresswas a train that ran between India and Pakistan. However, hostilities between the two nations in 2001 saw the line being closed. It was reopened when the hostilities subsided in 2004. Another train connecting Khokhrapar(Pakistan) and Munabao (India) is the Thar Express that restarted operations on February 18, 2006 since being closed down after the 1965 Indo-Pak war. The Kalka Shimla Railway till recently featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for offering the steepest rise in altitude in the space of 96 kilometers. The Lifeline Express is a special train popularly known as the Hospital-on-Wheels which provides healthcare to the rural areas. This train has a compartment that serves as an operating room, a second one which serves as a storeroom and an additional two that serve as a patient ward. The train travels around the country, staying at a location for about two months before moving elsewhere. Among the famous locomotives, the Fairy Queen is the oldest running locomotive in the world today, though the distinction of the oldest surviving locomotive belongs to John Bull. Kharagpur railway station also has the distinction of being the worlds longest railway platform at 1072 m (3,517 ft).

The Ghum station along the Toy Train route is the second highest railway station in the world to be reached by a steam locomotive.[5] Indian Railways operates 7,566 locomotives; 37,840 Coaching vehicles and 222,147 freight wagons. There are a total of 6,853 stations; 300 yards; 2,300 goods-sheds; 700 repair shops and a total workforce of 1.54 million.

The Deccan odyssey is a new line of tourist trains that travel across the Indian State of Maharashtra. The shortest named station is Ib and the longest is Sri Venkatanarasimharajuvariapeta. The Himsagar Express, between Kanyakumari and Jammu Tawi, has the longest run in terms of distance and time on Indian Railways network. It covers 3,745 km (2,327 miles) in about 74 hours and 55 minutes. The Trivandrum Rajdhani, between Delhis Nizamuddin Station and Trivandrum, travels non-stop between Vadodara and Kota, covering a distance of 528 km (328 miles) in about 6.5 hours, and has the longest continuous run on Indian Railways today. The Bhopal Shatabdi Express is the fastest train in India

today having a maximum speed of 140 km/h (87 mph) on the Faridabad-Agra section. The fastest speed attained by any train is 184 km/h (114 mph) in 2000 during test runs. This speed is much lower than fast trains in other parts of the world. One reason attributed for this difference is that the tracks are not suited for higher speeds.

Challenges Facing Indian Railways

To increase operational efficiency Improve productivity from existing systems Streamline and optimize business procedures To be responsive to business constituents Create end-to-end visibility into the business Make the information accessible and actionable To provide adaptability to change Re-act quickly to threats and opportunities Turn I.T. into a competitive business asset To support higher demand for Freight and Passenger transport, with planned economic growth

Need for capacity enhancement in the Railway network over the next 10-15 years

Technological up gradation for better maintenance of railway assets

To fight back the greater competition from Roadways, with major investments in Highway network up gradation

Increase freight market share through higher availability of

services at competitive prices Greater attention to passenger services and safety To manage heavily subsidised passenger fares & distorted passenger fares pricing Up gradation of the Railway Production units for improved efficiency and productivity