Facts everyone should know about Indian Railways that you might not be aware of. Indian Railways- The lifeline of the transport system in our country, is evidently a huge setup, and an organization with numerous branches. With a dedicated ministry and budget in its name, railways help large portions of the country’s population in running their daily businesses successfully.

However, there are a few things you probably don’t know about our trains and how the entire system works.

Read on, and maybe you can remember them, or simply be awed every-time you pass by something even remotely related to the railways.

1. Indian Railways is the largest railways network to be operated by a single government and is the world’s third largest network with a total length of 127,760 km. The annual tally is 8421 million passengers on 9991 trains connecting 7,172 stations across the country. The number of daily passengers on the railways is said to be larger than the population of some countries. It also carries 1014.15 million tons of freight annually.

2. Indian Railways-owned the longest railway platform in the world at Kharagpur with a length of 2,733 feet. Now, breaking the record, Gorakhpur station has recently taken its place with a span of 4,430 feet.

3. Two historical railway elements are included in the UNESCO World Heritage site list- the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, and the Indian Mountain Railways. The Indian Mountain Railways includes three Railways- the Darjeeling Himalayan Railways, Nilgiri Mountain Railways, and Kalka Shimla Railway. All the three trains have been functional for some 100 years. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is a classic fusion of Gothic art with Indian architecture.

4. Indian Railways has five luxury trains These are: . Royal Rajasthan on Wheels . Palace on Wheels ( Rajasthan), . The Golden Chariot (Karnataka and Goa) . The Maharaja’s Express . The Deccan Odyssey They are known to be the pride of Indian Railways as they hold an eminent position among the luxury trains of the world. Palace on Wheels is the oldest one of them.

5. The Diamond crossing ( dubbed so by railways themselves), in Nagpur, is one-of-its-kind, from where trains go East, West, North, and South.

6. The Indian Railway is constructing the World’s highest rail bridge over Chenab. The bridge will be 1,315 meters long and will use up to 25,000 tonnes of steel. The idea was initially conceived in 2008 but the project was paused due to safety concerns. The work, however, began in 2010 and it is expected to be completed this year.

7. The longest tunnel in the country is Pir Panjal Railway tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir which is 11.25 Kms long.

8. The busiest junction in the country is Howrah Junction in Kolkata with as many 974 trains stopping there daily.

9. All the electric appliances ( fans, lights) in rail coaches function at 110 volts instead of the Indian standard 220 Volts. It is a very effective counter-measure against thieves.

10. The Indian Railways is the world’s eighth largest employer with a total of 1.4 million employees.

11. Computerized reservations began in New Delhi in 1986.

12. Indian Railways launched an awareness campaign train on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2007, called the Red Ribbon Express.

13. India has eight Railway Museums – In Delhi, Pune, Kanpur, Mysore, Chennai, Ghum and Tiruchirappalli. Out of these, the National Railway Museum in Delhi is the largest rail Museum in Asia.

14. Indian Railways, a mode of transport that connects the whole nation, is the largest rail network in Asia and Second Largest in the World.

15. The New Delhi Railway Station has the World’s largest Route Relay interlocking system, an achievement that has Won the station a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

16. You Probably already are aware of the fact that railway stations have super crowed and its because the Indian Railways takes 2.5 crores passengers daily to their desired destinations.

17. The Darjeeling toy train is still running on a steam engine that was made all the way back in 1881.

18. A lot of us don’t know about Bholu, the Elephant who happens to be the Mascot of the Indian Railways.

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