The Indian Railways have helped this nation travel for the past 165 years. All of us have memories associated with train rides. From going to nani ka ghar during summer holidays to leaving to live in another city in our constant search for better opportunities, the Indian Railways have always gotten us to our desired destination. We’ve always appreciated its efficiency and prices. For years now, it has been the backbone of India’s transportation system. Come hail or storm, the Indian Railways never stop.
Here are some interesting facts about the Indian Railways that will help us appreciate it even more:
1. Indian Railways, a mode of transport that connects the whole nation, is the largest rail network in Asia and second largest in the world.
2. Our train system is pretty old given the fact that the first train on Indian soil started its journey on the 16th of April 1853, running between Bombay and Thane.
3. 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.
4. You probably already are aware of the fact that railway stations are super crowded and its because the Indian Railways takes 2.5 crore passengers daily to their desired destinations.
5. The Fairy Queen between New Delhi and Alwar in Rajasthan is operated on the oldest functioning steam engine in the whole world.
6. Ib Railway station of Odisha has the shortest name of all stations on the Indian Railways system.
7. You can only understand how vast the Indian railways network is when you get to know that if the tracks of Indian railways were to be laid out, they would circle the earth almost 1.5 times.
8. Indian Railways run 11,000 trains a day to make sure everyone reaches their destination in a timely and efficient manner, making it a hugely successful operation.
9. The Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation website is rather busy for it gets close to 12 lakh hits each minute.
10. The toilets found in Indian trains have always been a rather talked about feature but did you know that our trains got toilets only after Indian Railways completed about 50 years!
11. Indian Railways have always been the backbone of our country’s public transport system with 16 zones which cover a route of 65,808 km with 7,112 stations.
12. The Darjeeling toy train is still running on a steam engine that was made all the way back in 1881.
13. A lot of us don’t know about Bholu, the elephant who happens to be the mascot of the Indian Railways.
The Indian Railways are truly majestic!