RAILWAYS
- From a very modest beginning in 1853, when the first train steamed off from Mumbai to Thane, a distance of 34 km, the Railways have grown into a vast network of:
- 7,030 stations
- route length of 64,015 km
- 8,592 locomotives,
- 49,110 passenger service vehicles,
- 5,985 other coaching vehicles
- 2,11,763 wagons.
- About 29% of the route kilometre, 41% of running track kilometre and 42% of total track kilometre is electrified.
- The network is divided into 16 zones. Divisions are the basic operating units. The 16 zones and their respective headquarters are:
| ZONAL RAILWAYS | HEADQUARTERS |
| Central | Mumbai CST |
| Eastern | Kolkata |
| East Coast | Bhubhaneshwar |
| East Central | Hajipur |
| Northern | New Delhi |
| North Central | Allahabad |
| North Eastern | Gorakhpur |
| Northeast Frontier | Maligaon (Guwahati) |
| North Western | Jaipur |
| Southern | Chennai |
| South Central | Secunderabad |
| South Eastern | Kolkata |
| South East Central Railway | Bilaspur |
| South Western Railway | Hubli |
| Western | Mumbai |
| West Central Railway | Jabalpur |
- The rolling stock fleet of Indian Railways in service as on 31st March, 2009 comprised 43 steam, 4,963 diesel and 3,586 electric locomotives.
- There are 11 public undertakings under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways, viz:
- Rail India Technical and Economic Services Limited (RITES)
- Indian Railway Construction (IRCON) International Limited
- Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (IRFC)
- Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR)
- Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL)
- Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd, (IRCTC)
- Railtel Corporation of India Ltd. (Rail Tel)
- Mumbai Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (MRVNL)
- Railway Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL)
- Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL)
- Bharat Wagon and Engineering Co. Ltd. (BWEL)
- The Research, Design and Standards Organization (RDSO) at Lucknow is the R&D wing of Indian Railways.
- Since 1924-25, railway finances remain separated from general revenues. They have their own funds and accounts and the Railway Budget is presented separately to Parliament.
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