Rail transport in India

Rail transport in India consists of primarily of passenger and freight shipments along an integrated rail network. Indian Railways (IR), a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India, operates India's national railway system. It is the primary owner and operator of rail operations throughout the country, including suburban rail in major metros. Economic studies indicate positive effects of the Indian railway network on the economy of the country.

The majority of the metro urban rail networks are operated by independent bodies constituted for the respective operations. Privately owned rails exist in few places, mostly used to connect freight to the integrated rail network. Inter-city rail services are operated primarily by Indian Railways, though efforts have been made to introduce privately operated trains as recently as 2022.

The national rail network comprised total route length of 68,584 km (42,616 mi), with more than 132,310 km (82,210 mi) of track and 8,000+ stations and is the fourth-largest in the world. As of 2023^[update], it is one of the busiest networks in the world, transporting more than 11 billion passengers and 1.512 billion tonnes of freight annually. As of August 2024^[update], more than 64,080 km (39,820 mi) of all the routes have been electrified with 25 KV AC electric traction. The rolling stock consisted of 318,196 freight wagons, 84,863 passenger coaches, 14,781 locomotives and other multiple units owned by Indian Railways apart from rail-sets operated by metro rail corporations.

In 1832, the proposal to construct the first railway line in India at Madras was made. In 1835, a railway track was constructed between Red Hills and Chintadripet in Madras and became operational in 1837. It was hauled by a rotary steam engine imported from England and was used for ferrying granite.

The Madras Railway was established in 1845. Temporary railway lines were built such as the Godavari Dam Construction Railway at Dowleswaram by Arthur Cotton to supply stone for the construction of a dam over the Godavari River in 1845 and the Solani aqueduct railway, built by Proby Cautley in Roorkee to transport construction materials for an aqueduct over the Solani river in 1851. On 1 August 1849, the Great Indian Peninsular Railway was incorporated with a guarantee system providing free land and guaranteeing five-percent rates of return to private English companies building railways. In 1852, a steam locomotive imported from England was tried at Byculla.

In 1853, the first passenger train on 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge ran for 34 kilometres (21 mi) between Bombay and Thane which had 14-carriages carrying 400 people, hauled by three steam locomotives: the Sahib, Sindh and Sultan. The Great Southern of India Railway Company was established with its headquarters in England in 1853. The Thane viaducts, the first railway bridges, were built over the Thane creek when the Mumbai-Thane line was extended to Kalyan in May 1854. Eastern India's first passenger train ran 39 km (24 mi) from Howrah, near Kolkata, to Hoogly on 15 August 1854. The construction of 97 km (60 mi) line in the South between Royapuram in Madras and Arcot started in 1853, which became operational on 1 July 1856. The first workshops were established by GIPR at Byculla in 1854 and Madras Railway at Perambur in 1856. The Bombay, Baroda, and Central India Railway (BB&CI) was incorporated in 1855 and the Eastern Bengal Railway in 1858. The Carnatic Railway was founded in 1869. On 24 February 1873, a horse-drawn 3.8 km (2.4 mi) tram opened in Calcutta between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat street. In 1875, a railway line was opened in between Mokama and Darbhanga by the local ruler of Raj Darbhanga through Tirhut Railway. On 9 May 1874, a horse-drawn tramway began operation in Bombay between Colaba and Parel. The Great Southern of India Railway and the Carnatic Railway merged in 1874 to form the South Indian Railway. In 1879, the Nizam's Guaranteed State Railway was established which built railway lines across the then Hyderabad State. In 1877, an Ajmer built F-1/734 Steam Locomotive became the first indigenously built locomotive in India. East Coast State Railway was established in 1890. In 1897, lighting in passenger coaches was introduced with the Jodhpur Railway, the first to introduce electric lighting as standard fixtures. In 1908, Madras Railway merged with Southern Mahratta Railway to form the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway. Pamban bridge, the first sea bridge was opened on 24 February 1914. In 1920, electric lighting of signals was introduced between Dadar and Currey Road in Bombay.

The first railway budget was presented in 1924. The Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway was merged with the East Indian Railway Company (EIR) in the same year. On 3 February 1925, the first electric train ran between Victoria Terminus (VT) and Kurla, hauled by a SLM electric locomotive on 1500 V DC traction. Later, the VT–Bandra section was electrified and the first Electric Multiple Units (EMU) were introduced in with 1.5KV DC units imported were from Cammell Laird and Uerdingenwagonfabrik. On 1 April 1929, Grand Trunk Express commenced operations between Peshawar in the North Western Railway and Mangalore with two coaches detached and connected to Madras further. The Frontier Mail made its inaugural run between Bombay and Peshawar in 1928. Technical advancements led to automatic colour light signals that become operational between Bombay and Byculla in 1928. In the subsequent years, the route from Bombay to Poona was electrified and in June 1930, the first deluxe train, Deccan Queen began running, hauled by a WCP-1 locomotives with seven coaches along the route. The Grand Trunk express commenced operating as a dedicated daily train between Madras and Delhi from 1 September 1930. Chennai suburban railway started operating in 1931 with a single metre gauge line from Chennai Beach to Tambaram. In 1944, all the railway companies were taken over by the Government.

Beginning in 1926 and for statistical purposes, the Government of British Raj classified Indian railway systems according to three classes. It was a similar system to the Railroad classes in North America.