30 Incredible Facts About The Indian Railways You Never Knew

On April 16, 1853, a train journey from Mumbai to Thane was a small start, Indian Railways have come a long way since then. Now it has branched into one of the leading railway networking sectors running 11000 trains per day. Indian railway is the 4th largest railway network in the world and employs 1.4 million people ranking as the 7th largest employer handled by a single (central) government in the whole world.

Train journey always sticks to our list of special memories and to make your traveling more memorable we are going to share some of the most incredible facts about the Indian Railways that will amaze you.

Here are some amazing facts about Indian Railways that you should know about:

1. Fastest train in India – Gatiman Express (160km/hr)

Gatiman Express, a semi-high speed train that covers a 200 km journey between New Delhi and Agra in 105 min is the fastest train in India. Next comes the New Delhi- Bhopal Shatabdi express with a speed of 90 km/hr making it the train with the highest commercial speed.

2. Slowest train in India – Mettupalayam Ooty Nilgiri Passenger (10km/hr)

Crawling its way in the hilly regions, the Mettupalayam Ooty Nilgiri Passenger train runs at a speed of 10 km/hr which is 16 times slower than the fastest train.

3. India’s longest-running train – Vivek Express which runs from Dibrugarh to Kanyakumari (4,273 km)

Joining North-East to the Southern tip of India, the Kanyakumari Vivek Express runs from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu covering 4,273 km ranking 1st among the longest running trains in India and 9th in the world.

4. Shortest running train in India –  Between Nagpur and Ajni (3 km)

Primarily meant for crew travelling, a train service scheduled between Nagpur and Ajni covers just 3km making it the shortest running train.

5. Train with most halts in India – Amritsar Express (110 stops)

Amritsar Express operates between Howrah Jn. and Amritsar Jn. and takes 110 stops as it travels 1,929 km in 44 hrs and 30 min.

6. Train with least halts in India – Trivandrum – H. Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express

Trivandrum – H. Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express runs between Vadodara and Kota nonstop covering a stretch of 528 km which makes it a train with the least halts in India.

7. Least punctual train in India – Guwahati Thiruvananthapuram Express (11 hrs delay)

Indians are not known for their punctuality, so, here is an Indian express train that holds the record for being the most delayed train on Indian railways, the Guwahati Thiruvananthapuram Express is delayed by 10-12 hrs on average.

8. Longest train tunnel in India – Pir Panjal tunnel (11 km)

India’s longest train tunnel is the Pir Panjal tunnel located in the Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir.

9. Busiest station in India – Howrah Junction (974 trains per day)

Serving the city of Kolkata the Howrah Junction railway station has the highest train handling capacity with 23 platforms and 974 trains arriving/departing on daily basis. In terms of passenger volume per day, it is regarded as the busiest station in India.

10. Indian station with the longest name – Venkatanarasimharajuveripeta in Andhra Pradesh

Venkatanarasimharajuveripeta railway station in Andhra Pradesh is distinguished as having the longest name among all stations on the Indian Railway station.

11. Indian station with the shortest name – IB

IB railway station in Orissa is the station with the shortest name in the Indian Railway system.

12. Longest platform in India – Gorakhpur railway station (1.35 km)

Serving as the headquarters of the North-Eastern Railways, the Gorakhpur railway station in Uttar Pradesh is the world’s longest platform as it stretches to 1,366.33m.

13. Two stations at the same location

Srirampur and Belapur are two different stations both at the same location on the railway route but on opposite sides of the track in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

14. One station built in two states – Navapur

The railway station of Navapur is built in 2 states; half of it is in Maharashtra and the other half is in Gujarat.

15. Longest rail bridge in India – Vembanad Rail Bridge, Kerala (4.62 km)

Vembanad Rail Bridge in Kerala built over the river Vembanad connects Edappally and Vallarpadam in Kochi and spans the length of 4.62 km making it the longest rail bridge in India.

16. Highest rail bridge in India – Chenab bridge, Jammu & Kashmir

Chenab Bridge in J&K which is under construction is expected to be the world’s highest rail bridge that is 359m above the river Chenab. It is predicted to be taller than the Eiffel Tower.

17. World’s oldest steam locomotive – Fairy Queen

Certified as the world’s oldest working steam locomotive by the Guinness book of world records the Fairy Queen was built-in 1885 and resumed commercial operations in 1997 for the tourist circuit from Delhi to Alwar.

18. Largest route relay interlocking system – New Delhi railway station

The New Delhi station is equipped with a 40 relay interlocking system and has secured a place in the Guinness book of world records for the largest route relay interlocking system.

19. Luxury trains of India – Palace on wheels

Indian railway operates a number of luxurious trains to attract tourists to give a new look to the developing country by offering an extravagant journey.

Trains that give a sneak peek of Indian royalty are Palace on wheels, Maharaja Express, Deccan Odyssey, Golden Chariot, and a few others.

20. Samjhauta Express/Friend Express – Runs between India and Pakistan

Following the Shimla agreement, the Samjhauta Express was started in 1976 that runs twice a week between Delhi in India and Lahore in Pakistan. Although officially between Delhi and Attasi it is known by the name Attasi-Delhi Express and between Attasi and Lahore it is popular as Samjhauta Express.

21. Hospitals on wheels – Lifeline Express

Also called Jeevan Rekha express having two surgical operation theatres is the world’s 1st hospital train which is developed in collaboration with the Indian Railways and the Health ministry. It started on July 16 1991 as a measure to reach out to the rural areas of India where medical attention is much needed.

22. Red Ribbon Express

It is a campaign train set by the Indian Railway that spreads awareness on AIDS/ HIV by providing information, counseling services, and treatments on the coach.

23. Locopilots salary in India

Locopilots (train drivers) receive a salary ranging from 20,000 to 1 lakh per month depending upon their skills and experience.
This explains the fuss over railway jobs!

24. Length of track used by Indian railways is 115,000 km

The total length of tracks used by Indian railways is 115,000 km which means if laid out one after the other they would circle the earth 2.5 times.

25. Toilets were installed in trains after Indian Railways completed 50 years

A passenger named Okhil Chandra Sen wrote a letter regarding this issue and requested the Indian railway to provide toilet facilities on trains in 1909.

26. Switching of the railroad was done manually before the installment of the automatic point system due to which many guards lost their hands and fingers

27. Bholu, the guard elephant is the mascot for Indian Railways

28. UNESCO world heritage sites – Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and the Indian Mountain Railways

It consists of Nilgiri Mountain Railway in Tamil Nadu, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Kalka-Shimla Railway, a narrow-gauge railway in the Shivalik mountains in Himachal Pradesh, and a narrow-gauge railway in West Bengal respectively. These two historical railway elements have been considered the UNESCO world heritage site.

29. In 1984, the first underground railway station was built in Kolkata

30. Ghum Railway Station is the Highest Railway Station in India which is a part of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

Seeing these fascinating facts on Indian railways, now you know why we have a separate budget reserved for railways.

Also read: 17 Amazing Facts About Rajdhani Express We Bet You Didn’t Knew