20 Surprising facts of Indian Railways Everyone Should Know

Apart from cricket and English language, the British have provided India with a vast network of railways to commute from one place to another. Since ages, Indian Railway has served to carry passengers from one route to another. This giant government sector is a monopoly and divided into 17 zones with 68 operating divisions and offers mail, express trains and various tourist service trains including luxury trains, semi-luxury trains, Buddhist special trains, and Bharat Darshan trains. Recently, Railways has announced a new express train called “The Ramayana Express” which will carry tourists from the cultural land of India and take them to an exquisite tour to SriLanka. With the advent of digitization, the services of Indian railways have gone online and available on a portal called irctc.co.in. Any passenger who is planning to train journey can visit this portal and book tickets, cabs, taxis, hotels, air tickets etc. It’s a one-stop hub for all railway journey need.

Indian Railways is also called the “transport lifeline of the nation” which has a unique history. At present, Railway is under a constant effort to make passengers’ journey satisfying and comfortable. The major concern is the seat availability, especially during the festive season. This exceptional rush is managed by launching new special express trains which guarantees confirm tickets. Recently, in a partnership with Air India (AI) the railway has assured passengers a flight ticket to the destination for the unconfirmed AC compartment tickets (this facility is available in Rajdhani Trains). Such measures taken by Indian Railways have proved itself as the best mode of travel in India. This national railway system operated by the Ministry of Railways has now appeared as a blast from the past. Apart from the fact that it is the fourth largest Railway network of the world, there are many other interesting facts to know which will stay you amazed.

Here are some interesting facts of IR which you might not be aware of:

1. World’s largest Route Relay Interlocking System: The New Delhi railway station has the world’s largest relay interlocking system. It is recorded in the Guinness Book of World record.

2. Vivek Express: Vivek express (Train no. 15905/6) which starts its journey from Dibrugarh and ends at Kanyakumari is the longest running train route of India. It covers the distance of 4,273 km. and takes 79 hours to cover the distance with 57 stoppages. Check PNR status regularly, before boarding this train.

Credit: You Tube

3. The Hare and Tortoise race: The most fastest running train is the Trivandrum-Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express covering the distance of 528-km from Vadodara and Kota, and the slowest train is The Nilgiri Express running at an average speed of 10 kmph.
4. Largest Railway Marshaling yard in Asia: Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay junction (earlier known as Mugalsarai jn.) has the largest railway marshaling yard in Asia.
5. Station with Longest name: Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta is the longest station name in India.
6. Most expensive luxury train in India: The Maharaja Express is the most luxurious and most expensive train in India. It is an opportunity for guests to explore the treasures of India.

Credit: maharajas-express-india.com

7. The Guwahati-Trivandrum Express: Think twice before you book a ticket in Guwahati- Trivandrum Express. It’s the only train In India which gets delayed by 10-12 hours per trip.
8. Maximum number of halts: Howrah-Amritsar Express has 115 stoppages throughout its journey. So, if you plan to journey via Howrah-Amritsar express, check the train running status regularly.
9. Shortest Train Route: The shortest train runs from Nagpur to Ajni. It covers the distance of 3 kilometers.
10. Largest Employer: Indian Railways employ a massive population of India. Close to 1.54 million people are the Railway employee making it the seventh-largest employer in the world.
11. Why do you sleep in train: The railway coaches are designed with the resonance frequency of suspension of 1.2 Hz. This is the same frequency in which human body is most comfortable and falls asleep.
12. Largest Rail Museum: The Rail museum in Delhi is the largest museum in Asia.
13. Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel: It is the longest railway tunnel with a length of 11.215 km in the mid-Himalayas.
14. Oldest steam engine in the world: The Fairy Queen is an 1855-built steam locomotive which is the oldest steam engine in the world.
15. World’s tallest Railway Bridge: Chenab bridge built over the River Chenab will be the world’s highest railway bridge. It is under construction.
16. The Mascot of Indian Railways: The mascot of Indian Railways is Bholu- The Elephant guard.
17. First Railroad Construction: The first railroad was constructed by two Indians – Jaganath Shunkerseth and Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy.
18. Slowest train in India: Yes! It’s hard to believe that trains in India can be slowest, but a train Metupalayam Ooty Nilgiri Passenger train is the slowest train of the Indian Railways. It runs with a speed of 10km/hour. STRANGE!
19. Longest Platform: Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh is the longest platform. It has a length of 1366.33 metres, making it one of the longest platforms of the world.
20. No Toilets: It’s hard to believe that Indian railway coaches were deprived of toilets. Since the railways started there were no toilets till the 50th year of its completion. Passengers have to wait for the next station to attend nature’s call. After 50 successful years of Indian Railways, toilets were equipped in every coach for the comfort of passengers.

These properties of Indian Railways make it exceptional with historic importance and one of the most convenient ways to travel from one part of India to another.

Wait!
Do you need any assistance for your journey?

If Yes, then you have landed in a safer zone. RailMitra, your only friend will assist you for the train journey commencing from planning, ticketing till boarding of train and food availability in the train. The worst part of any journey is when you get a non-reserved ticket which urges you to check PNR status daily. Now, no more online juggling! RailMitra is an AI integrated technology which helps railway passengers to know every minute detail of the journey like train running status, seat availability, stations between the journey, train timetable etc. RailMitra is a step-ahead, tech-savvy, AI which can be easily used for its services.