Indian Railways
Sign in to savestate-owned enterprise operating India's national railway system
Key facts
- Native name
- Indian Railways
- Company type
- Statutory body , State-owned enterprise
- Industry
- Rail transport
- Founded
- 16 April 1853 (173 years ago) ( 1853-04-16 )
- Headquarters
- Rail Bhawan , New Delhi , India
- Area served
- India
- Key people
- Ashwini Vaishnaw ( Minister for Railways ) Satish Kumar ( Chairman and CEO )
- Services
- Passenger railway Rail freight transport Parcel carrier Catering Tourism Parking lot operations Other related services
- Revenue
- ₹ 2,560 billion (US$27 billion) (2023–24)
- Net income
- ₹ 47.61 billion (US$500 million) (2023–24)
- Owner
- Ministry of Railways , Government of India (100%)
- Number of employees
- 1,252,200 (31 March 2024)
- Line length
- 69,181 km (42,987 mi)
- Track length
- 135,207 km (84,014 mi)
- Track gauge
- 1,676 mm ( 5 ft 6 in ), 1,000 mm ( 3 ft 3 + 3 ⁄ 8 in ), 762 mm ( 2 ft 6 in ), 610 mm ( 2 ft )
- Electrification
- 62,253 km (38,682 mi)
- Website
- indianrailways .gov .in
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. As of 2024, it manages the fourth largest national railway system by size, with a track length of 135,207 km (84,014 mi), running track length of 109,748 km (68,194 mi) and route length of 69,181 km (42,987 mi), of which 66,820 km (41,520 mi) is 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad-gauge. As of October 2025, approximately 99.1% of the broad-gauge railway network had been electrified. With more than 1.2 million employees, it is the ninth-largest employer of the world and the second largest employer of India.
In 1951, the Indian Railways was established by the amalgamation of 42 different railway companies operating in the country, spanning a total of 55,000 km (34,000 mi). The railway network across the country was reorganized into six regional zones in 1951–52 for administrative purposes, which was gradually expanded to 18 zones over the years.