INDIAN RAILWAYS

Indian Railways

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This article is about the organization. For general information on railways in India, see

RAIL TRANSPORT IN INDIA.

Indian Railways

Type	Government-owned corporation
Industry	Railways
Founded	16 April 1853^[1]
Headquarters	New Delhi, India
Area served	India
Key people	Vinay Mittal (Chairman)^[2]
Services	Passenger railways freight services bus transportation travel agency services parking lot operations other related services
Revenue	106,647 crore (US$19.3 billion) (2011–12)^[3]
Net income	9,610 crore (US$1.74 billion) (2011–12)^[3]
Owner(s)	Government of India (100%)
Employees	1.4 million (2011)^[4]
Divisions	17 Railway Zones including Kolkata Metro^[5]
Website	www.indianrailways.gov.in

Indian Railways
Reporting mark	IR
Locale	India
Dates of operation	16 April 1853–Present
Track gauge	1676 mm; 1000 mm; 762 mm; 610 mm
Electrification	21,500 km
Length	65,000 km
Headquarters	New Delhi, India
Website	www.indianrailways.gov.in

Indian Railways (reporting mark IR) is an Indian state-owned enterprise, owned and operated by the government of India through the Ministry of Railways. It is one of the world's largest railway networks comprising 115,000 km (71,000 mi) of track over a route of 65,000 km (40,000 mi) and 7,500 stations. IR carries about 7,500 million passengers annually or more than 20 million passengers daily (more than a half of which are suburban passengers) and 2.8 million tons of freight daily. In 2011-2012 Indian Railways earned

104,278.79 crore (US$18.87 billion) which consists of

69,675.97 crore (US$12.61 billion) from freight and

28,645.52 crore (US$5.18 billion) from passengers tickets.

Railways were first introduced to India in 1853 from Bombay to Thane. In 1951 the systems were nationalized as one unit, the Indian Railways, becoming one of the largest networks in the world. IR operates both long distance and suburban rail systems on a multi-gauge network of broad, metre and narrow gauges. It also owns locomotive and coach production facilities at several places in India and are assigned codes identifying their gauge, kind of power and type of operation. Its operations cover twenty four states and three union territories and also provides limited international services to Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Indian Railways is the world's fourth largest commercial or utility employer, by number of employees, with over 1.4 million employees. As for rolling stock, IR holds over 229,381 Freight Wagons, 59,713 Passenger Coaches and 9,213 Locomotives. The trains have a 5 digit numbering system as the Indian Railways runs about 10,000 trains daily. As of 31 March 2012, 22,224 km (13,809 mi) (34%) of the total 65,000 km (40,000 mi) km route length was electrified.^[6]. Since 1960, almost all electrified sections on IR use 25,000 Volt AC traction through overhead catenary delivery.

History

Main article: History of rail transport in India

India's first train run between Mumbai and Thane

The B.B. & C.I. Railway Head Offices, 1905

The history of rail transport in India began in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1849, there was not a single kilometre of railway line in India. A British engineer, Robert Maitland Brereton, was responsible for the expansion of the railways from 1857 onwards. The Allahabad-Jubbulpore branch line of the East Indian Railway had been opened in June 1867. Brereton was responsible for linking this with the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, resulting in a combined network of 6,400 km (4,000 mi). Hence it became possible to travel directly from Bombay to Calcutta. This route was officially opened on 7 March 1870 and it was part of the inspiration for French writer Jules Verne's book Around the World in Eighty Days. At the opening ceremony, the Viceroy Lord Mayo concluded that “it was thought desirable that, if possible, at the earliest possible moment, the whole country should be covered with a network of lines in a uniform system”. ^[7]

By 1875, about £95 million were invested by British companies in Indian guaranteed railways.^[8] By 1880 the network had a route mileage of about 14,500 km (9,000 mi), mostly radiating inward from the three major port cities of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. By 1895, India had started building its own locomotives, and in 1896 sent engineers and locomotives to help build the Uganda Railways.

In 1900, the GIPR became a government owned company. The network spread to the modern day states of Assam, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh and soon various independent kingdoms began to have their own rail systems. In 1905, an early Railway Board was constituted, but the powers were formally invested under Lord Curzon.^[9] It served under the Department of Commerce and Industry and had a government railway official serving as chairman, and a railway manager from England and an agent of one of the company railways as the other two members. For the first time in its history, the Railways began to make a profit.

In 1907 almost all the rail companies were taken over by the government. The following year, the first electric locomotive made its appearance. With the arrival of World War I, the railways were used to meet the needs of the British outside India. With the end of the war, the railways were in a state of disrepair and collapse.

In 1920, with the network having expanded to 61,220 km, a need for central management was mooted by Sir William Acworth. Based on the East India Railway Committee chaired by Acworth, the government took over the management of the Railways and detached the finances of the Railways from other governmental revenues.

The period between 1920 and 1929 was a period of economic boom; there were 41,000 miles of railway lines serving the country; the railways represented a capital value of some 687 million sterling; and they carried over 620 million passengers and approximately 90 million tons of goods each year.^[10] Following the Great Depression, the railways suffered economically for the next eight years. The Second World War severely crippled the railways. Starting 1939, about 40% of the rolling stock including locomotives and coaches was taken to the Middle East, the railways workshops were converted to ammunitions workshops and many railway tracks were dismantled to help the British in their war. By 1946 all rail systems had been taken over by the government.

Organisational structure

Main article: Indian Railway organisational structure

Railway zones

Indian Railways headquarters Delhi

Central Railway headquarters Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai

Southern Railway headquarters, Chennai

Western Railway HQ, Mumbai

Indian Railways is divided into several zones, which are further sub-divided into divisions. The number of zones in Indian Railways increased from six to eight in 1951, nine in 1952 and sixteen in 2003.^[11][12] Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. There are a total of sixty-eight divisions.^[4][13]

Each of the sixteen zones is headed by a General Manager (GM) who reports directly to the Railway Board. The zones are further divided into divisions under the control of Divisional Railway Managers (DRM). The divisional officers of engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal and telecommunication, accounts, personnel, operating, commercial and safety branches report to the respective Divisional Manager and are in charge of operation and maintenance of assets. Further down the hierarchy tree are the Station Masters who control individual stations and the train movement through the track territory under their stations' administration.

Sl. No	Name	Abbr.	Date Established	Route KMs	Headquarters	Divisions
1.	Central	CR	1951-11-05	3905	Mumbai	Mumbai, Bhusawal, Pune, Solapur, Nagpur
2.	East Central	ECR	2002-10-01	3628	Hajipur	Danapur, Dhanbad, Mughalsarai, Samastipur, Sonpur
3.	East Coast	ECoR	2003-04-01	2572	Bhubaneswar	Khurda Road, Sambalpur, Waltair,
4.	Eastern	ER	1952-04	2414	Kolkata	Howrah, Sealdah, Asansol, Malda
5.	North Central	NCR	2003-04-01	3151	Allahabad	Allahabad, Agra, Jhansi
6.	North Eastern	NER	1952	3667	Gorakhpur	Izzatnagar, Lucknow, Varanasi
7.	North Western	NWR	2002-10-01	5459	Jaipur	Jaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur
8.	Northeast Frontier	NFR	1958-01-15	3907	Guwahati	Alipurduar, Katihar, Rangia, Lumding, Tinsukia
9.	Northern	NR	1952-04-14	6968	Delhi	Delhi, Ambala, Firozpur, Lucknow, Moradabad
10.	South Central	SCR	1966-10-02	5803	Secunderabad	Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Guntakal, Guntur, Nanded, Vijayawada
11.	South East Central	SECR	2003-04-01	2447	Bilaspur	Bilaspur, Raipur, Nagpur
12.	South Eastern	SER	1955	2631	Kolkata	Adra, Chakradharpur, Kharagpur, Ranchi
13.	South Western	SWR	2003-04-01	3177	Hubli	Hubli, Bangalore, Mysore
14.	Southern	SR	1951-04-14	5098	Chennai	Chennai, Trichy, Madurai, Palakkad, Salem, Thiruvananthapuram
15.	West Central	WCR	2003-04-01	2965	Jabalpur	Jabalpur, Bhopal, Kota
16.	Western	WR	1951-11-05	6182	Mumbai	Mumbai Central, Ratlam, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Vadodara
17.	Metro Railway, Kolkata	MR	2010-12-30	25.55	Kolkata	-

Recruitment and training

Main article: Centralised Training Institutes of the Indian Railways

Staff are classified into gazetted (Group 'A' and 'B') and non-gazetted (Group 'C' and 'D') employees.^[14] The recruitment of Group 'A' gazetted employees is carried out by the Union Public Service Commission through exams conducted by it.^[15] The recruitment to Group 'C' and 'D' employees on the Indian Railways is done through 20 Railway Recruitment Boards which are controlled by the Railway Recruitment Control Board (RRCB).^[16] The training of all cadres is entrusted and shared between six centralized training institutes.

Production units

A modern pantograph. The device shown is technically a half-pantograph.

CLW made WAP-5 30022(CLW made WAP-5 locos don't have fluted body shell) rests at Bhopal

WDP4 Diesel Locomotive Baaz which is now at New Jalpaiguri

Indian Railways manufactures much of its rolling stock and heavy engineering components at its six manufacturing plants, called Production Units, which are managed directly by the Ministry. Popular rolling stock builders such as CLW and DLW for electric and diesel locomotives; ICF and RCF for passenger coaches are Production Units of Indian Railways. Over the years, Indian Railways has not only achieved self-sufficiency in production of rolling stock in the country but also exported rolling stock to other countries. Each of these six production units is headed by a General Manager, who also reports directly to the Railway Board. The six Production Units are:-

Sl. No	Name	Abbr.	Year Established	Location	Main products
1.	Golden Rock Locomotive Workshops	GOC	1928	Trichy	Diesel-electric Locomotives
2.	Chittaranjan Locomotive Works	CLW	1947	Chittaranjan, Asansol	Electric Locomotives
3.	Diesel Locomotive Works	DLW	1961	Varanasi	Diesel Locomotives
4.	Diesel-Loco Modernisation Works	DMW	1981	Patiala	Diesel-electric Locomotives
5.	Integral Coach Factory	ICF	1952	Chennai	Passenger coaches
6.	Rail Coach Factory	RCF	1986	Kapurthala	Passenger coaches
7.	Rail Wheel Factory	RWF	1984	Bangalore	Railway wheels and axles
8.	Rail Wheel Factory	RWF	2011	Chhapra	Railway wheels and axles

Other subsidiaries

There also exist independent organizations under the control of the Railway Board for electrification, modernization, research and design and training of officers, each of which is headed by an officer of the rank of General Manager. A number of Public Sector Undertakings, which perform railway-related functions ranging from consultancy to ticketing, are also under the administrative control of the Ministry of railways.

There are eleven public undertakings under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways,^[17] viz.

Bharat Wagon and Engineering Co. Ltd. (BWEL)
Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS)^[18]
Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR)
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL)
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC)
Indian Railway Construction (IRCON) International Limited
Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (IRFC)
Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL)
Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC)
Railtel Corporation of India Limited (Rail Tel)
Rail India Technical and Economic Services Limited (RITES)
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL)

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC), that has constructed and operates Delhi Metro network, is an independent organisation not connected to the Indian Railways. Similar metro rail corporations in other ciities (except Kolkata Metro in Kolkata) are not connected to the Indian Railways.

Rolling stock

Locomotives

Main article: Locomotives in India

Description: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Steam_eng.jpg/220px-Steam_eng.jpg

Two steam engines at water refilling station at Agra station

Description: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Beyer.Garrett.6594.jpg/220px-Beyer.Garrett.6594.jpg

A Beyer Garratt 6594 Engine seen at the National Rail Museum

Locomotives in India consist of electric and diesel locomotives. Steam locomotives are no longer used, except in heritage trains. Locomotives are also called locos or engines. In India, locomotives are classified according to their track gauge, motive power, the work they are suited for and their power or model number. The class name includes this information about the locomotive. It comprises 4 or 5 letters. The first letter denotes the track gauge. The second letter denotes their motive power (Diesel or Electric) and the third letter denotes the kind of traffic for which they are suited (goods, passenger, mixed or shunting). The fourth letter used to denote locomotives' chronological model number. However, from 2002 a new classification scheme has been adopted. Under this system, for newer diesel locomotives, the fourth letter will denote their horsepower range. Electric locomotives don't come under this scheme and even all diesel locos are not covered. For them this letter denotes their model number as usual.

A locomotive may sometimes have a fifth letter in its name which generally denotes a technical variant or subclass or subtype. This fifth letter indicates some smaller variation in the basic model or series, perhaps different motors, or a different manufacturer. With the new scheme for classifying diesel locomotives (as mentioned above) the fifth item is a letter that further refines the horsepower indication in 100 hp increments: 'A' for 100 hp, 'B' for 200 hp, 'C' for 300 hp, etc. So in this scheme, a WDM-3A refers to a 3100 hp loco, while a WDM-3F would be a 3600 hp loco.

Note: This classification system does not apply to steam locomotives in India as they have become non-functional now. They retained their original class names such as M class or WP class.

As of 31 March 2010, Indian Railways had 5,022 diesel locomotives (increased from 17 on 31 March 1951), 3,825 electric locomotives (increased from 72 on 31 March 1951) and 42 steam locomotives (decreased from 8,120 on 31 March 1951) (see Railway Budget 2012-13 Explantory Memorandum).

Goods wagons or freight cars

The number of freight car or goods wagons was 205,596 on 31 March 1951 and reached the maximum number 405,183 on 31 March 1980 after which it started declining and was 219,931 on 31 March 2010. The number is far shorter than the requirement and the Indian Railways keeps losing freight traffic to road. Indian Railways carried 93 million tonnes of goods in 1950-51 and it increased to 892 tonnes in 2009-10.

However, its share in goods traffic is much lower than road traffic. In 1951, its share was 65% and the share of road was 35%. Now the shares have been reversed and the share of railways has declined to 30% and the share of road has increased to 70%.

Passenger coaches

Indian railways has several types of passenger coaches.

Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) coaches are used for suburban traffic in large cities - mainly Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore. These coaches numbered 7,474 on 31 March 2010. They have second class and first class seating accommodation.

Passenger coaches numbered 43,518 on 31 March 2010. Other coaches (luggage coach, parcel van, guard's coach, mail coach, etc.) numbered 6,505 on 31 March 2010.

Freight

Indian Railways earns about 70% of its revenues from the freight traffic (Rs.686.2 billion from freight and Rs.304.6 billion from passengers in 2011-12). Most of its profits come from movement of freight. It makes a loss on passenger traffic. It deliberately keeps its passenger fares low and cross-subsidises the loss-making passenger traffic with the profit-making freight traffic.

Since the 1990s, Indian Railways has stopped single-wagon consignments and provides only full rake freight trains for goods. Most of its freight earnings come from movement of bulk goods such as coal, cement, food grains and iron ore in full rakes. It is continually losing freight traffic to road.

Technical details

Track and gauge

Indian railways uses four gauges, the 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge which is wider than the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) standard gauge; the 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) metre gauge; and two narrow gauges, 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) and 610 mm (2 ft) . Track sections are rated for speeds ranging from 75 to 160 km/h (47 to 99 mph).

The total length of track used by Indian Railways is about 115,000 km (71,000 mi) while the total route length of the network is 65,000 km (40,000 mi).^[19] About 22,224 km (13,809 mi) or 34% of the route-kilometre was electrified as on 31 March 2012.^[20]

Description: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Narmada_at_Indore2.jpg/220px-Narmada_at_Indore2.jpg

Broad gauge is the predominant gauge used by Indian Railways.

Broad gauge is the predominant gauge used by Indian Railways. Indian broad gauge—1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)—is the most widely used gauge in India with 105,000 km (65,000 mi) of track length (91% of entire track length of all the gauges) and 56,000 km (35,000 mi) of route-kilometre (86% of entire route-kilometre of all the gauges).

In some regions with less traffic, the metre gauge (1,000 mm/3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) is common, although the Unigauge project is in progress to convert all tracks to broad gauge. The metre gauge has about 8,000 km (5,000 mi) of track length (7% of entire track length of all the gauges) and 7,000 km (4,300 mi) of route-kilometre (10% of entire route-kilometre of all the gauges).

The Narrow gauges are present on a few routes, lying in hilly terrains and in some erstwhile private railways (on cost considerations), which are usually difficult to convert to broad gauge. Narrow gauges have 2,000 route-kilometre. The Kalka-Shimla Railway, the Kangra Valley Railway and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway are three notable hill lines that use narrow gauge, but the Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a metre gauge track.^[21] These four rail lines will not be converted under the Unigauge project.

Description: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Indian_Railways_Network_Connectivity_Map_with_cities_and_population_density.png/220px-Indian_Railways_Network_Connectivity_Map_with_cities_and_population_density.png

The Indian Railways serves every major populated region in the country

The share of broad gauge in the total route-kilometre has been steadily rising, increasing from 47% (25,258 route-km) in 1951 to 86% in 2012 whereas the share of metre gauge has declined from 45% (24,185 route-km) to 10% in the same period and the share of narrow gauges has decreased from 8% to 3%. However, the total route-kilometre has increased by only 21% (by just 11,500 km from 53,596 route-km in 1951) in the last sixty years or about 200 km per year. This compares very poorly with Chinese railways, which increased from about 27,000 route-km at the end of second world war to about 100,000 route-km in 2011, an increase of more than threefold. More than 28,000 route-km (34% of the total route-km) of Chinese railway is electrified compared to only about 21,500 route-km of Indian railways.

Sleepers (ties) are made up of prestressed concrete, or steel or cast iron posts, though teak sleepers are still in use on a few older lines. The prestressed concrete sleeper is in wide use today. Metal sleepers were extensively used before the advent of concrete sleepers. Indian Railways divides the country into four zones on the basis of the range of track temperature. The greatest temperature variations occur in Rajasthan.

Description: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Narrow_Gauge_Train_at_Rajim.JPG/220px-Narrow_Gauge_Train_at_Rajim.JPG

Narrow Gauge Train at Rajim, Chhattisgarh

Railway links to adjacent countries

Existing rail links:

Nepal – Break-of-gauge – Gauge conversion under uni-gauge project
Pakistan – same Broad Gauge. Thar Express to Karachi and the more famous Samjhauta Express international train from Lahore, Pakistan to Amritsar (Attari).
Bangladesh – Same Broad Gauge. The Maitri Express between Dhaka and Kolkata started in April 2008 using the Gede-Darsana route, in addition to a Freight Train service from Singhabad and Petrapole in India to Rohanpur and Benapole in Bangladesh A second passenger link between Agartala, India and Akhaura Upazila, Bangladesh was approved by the Government of Bangladesh & India in September 2011.^[22]

Under construction / Proposed links:

Bhutan – railways under construction – Same gauge
Myanmar – Manipur to Myanmar (under construction)
China – Indian Railways and rail authorities in People's Republic of China are interested in starting a high-speed rail link that would link New Delhi with Kunming, China via Myanmar.^[23] The rail link would utilize the under construction railway from Manipur, India to Myanmar and the under construction railway from Kunming to Myanmar.
Vietnam – On 9 April 2010, Former Union Minister of India, Shashi Tharoor announced that the central government is considering a rail link from Manipur to Vietnam via Myanmar.^[24]
Thailand - possible if Burma Railway is rebuilt.^[25] Would also allow trains to Malaysia and Singapore.

Types of passenger services

Trains are classified by their average speed.^[26] A faster train has fewer stops ("halts") than a slower one and usually caters to long-distance travel.

Rank	Train	Description
1	Duronto Express	These are the non-stop point to point rail services (except for operational stops) introduced for the first time in 2009 . They connect the metros and major state capitals of India and are faster than Rajdhani Express. The Duronto services consists of classes of accommodation namely first AC, two-tier AC, three-tier AC, AC 3 Tier Economy, Sleeper Class, General Class.
2	Rajdhani Express	These are all air-conditioned trains linking major cities to New Delhi. The Rajdhanis have high priority and are one of the fastest trains in India, travelling at about 130 km/h (82 mph). There are only a few stops on a Rajdhani route.
3	Shatabdi Express	The Shatabdi trains are AC intercity seater-type trains for travel during day.
4	Garib Rath	Fully air conditioned trains, designed for those who cannot afford to travel in the expensive Shatabti and Rajdhani Express. Garib Rath means "Chariot of the Poor". The maximum speed is 130 km/h.
5	Jan Shatabdi	Jan Shatabdi Express are a more affordable variety of the Shatabdi Express, which has both AC and non-AC classes. The maximum speed is 130 km/h.
6	Sampark Kranti Express	Sampark Kranti Express trains are a series of trains that provide quick connectivity from a particular state to the national capital, New Delhi.
7	Superfast Express/Mail	These are trains that have an average speed greater than 55 km/h (34 mph). Tickets for these trains have an additional super-fast surcharge.
8	Express	These are the most common kind of trains in India. They have more stops than their super-fast counterparts, but they stop only at relatively important intermediate stations.
9	Passenger and Fast Passenger	These are slow trains that stop at most stations along the route and are the cheapest trains. The trains generally have unreserved seating accommodation but some night trains have sleeper, First Class and 3A compartments.
10	Suburban trains	These trains operate in the urban areas of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune, usually stop at all stations and have unreserved seating accommodation.
11	Metros and Monorails	These trains are designed for city transport in metro cities of India.

Description: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Delhi_Duronto.jpg/220px-Delhi_Duronto.jpg

Delhi Duronto Express, as it rolls out of Sealdah with a Ghaziabad WAP 7 in Duronto livery

Accommodation classes

Indian Railways has several classes of travel with or without airconditioning. A train may have just one or many classes of travel. Slow passenger trains have only unreserved seating class whereas Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi trains have only airconditioned classes. The fares for all classes are different with unreserved seating class being the cheapest. The fare of Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi trains includes food served in the train but the fare for other trains does not include food that has to be bought separately. In long-distance trains a pantry car is usually included and food is served at the berth or seat itself. Luxury trains such as Palace on Wheels have separate dining cars but these trains cost as much as or more than a five-star hotel room.

A standard passenger rake generally has four unreserved (also called "general") compartments, two at the front and two at the end, of which one may be exclusively for ladies. The exact number of other coaches varies according to the demand and the route. A luggage compartment can also exist at the front or the back. In some mail trains a separate mail coach is attached. Lavatories are communal and feature both the Indian style as well as the Western style.

The following table lists the classes in operation. A train may not have all these classes.

Class^[27]	Description^[27][28]
1A	First class AC: This is the most expensive class, where the fares are almost at par with air fare. There are eight cabins (including two coupes) in the full AC First Class coach and three cabins (including one coupe) in the half AC First Class coach. The coach has an attendant to help the passengers. Bedding is included with the fare in IR. This air conditioned coach is present only on popular routes and can carry 18 passengers (full coach) or 10 passengers (half coach). The sleeper berths are extremely wide and spacious. The coaches are carpeted, have sleeping accommodation and have privacy features like personal coupes. This class is available on broad gauge and metre gauge trains.
2A	AC-Two tier: These air-conditioned coaches have sleeping berths across eight bays. Berths are usually arranged in two tiers in bays of six, four across the width of the coach and two berths longways on the other side of the gangway or corridor, with curtains along the gangway or corridor. Bedding is included with the fare. A broad gauge coach can carry 48 passengers (full coach) or 20 passengers (half coach). This class is available on broad gauge and metre gauge trains.
FC	First class: Same as 1AC but without air conditioning. No bedding is available in this class. The berths are wide and spacious. There is a coach attendant to help the passengers. This class has been phased out on most of the trains and is rare to find. However narrow gauge trains to hill stations have this class.
3A	AC three tier: Air conditioned coaches with 64 sleeping berths. Berths are usually arranged as in 2AC but with three tiers across the width and two longways as before giving eight bays of eight. They are slightly less well-appointed, usually no reading lights or curtained off gangways. Bedding is included with fare. It carries 64 passengers in broad gauge. This class is available only on broad gauge.
3E	AC three tier (Economy): Air conditioned coaches with sleeping berths, present in Garib Rath Trains. Berths are usually arranged as in 3AC but with three tiers across the width and three longways. They are slightly less well-appointed, usually no reading lights or curtained off gangways. Bedding is not included with fare.
CC	AC chair car: An air-conditioned seater coach with a total of five seats in a row used for day travel between cities.
EC	Executive class chair car: An air-conditioned coach with large spacious seats and legroom. It has a total of four seats in a row used for day travel between cities. This class of travel is only available on Shatabdi Express trains.
SL	Sleeper class: The sleeper class is the most common coach on IR, and usually ten or more coaches could be attached. These are regular sleeping coaches with three berths vertically stacked. In broad gauge, it carries 72 passengers per coach.
2S	Seater class: same as AC Chair car, but with bench style seats and without the air-conditioning. These may be rserved in advance or may be unreserved.
UR	Unreserved: The cheapest accommodation. The seats are usually made up of pressed wood in older coaches but cushioned seats are found in new coaches. These coaches are usually over-crowded and a seat is not guaranteed. Tickets are issued in advace for a minimum journey of more than 24 hours. Tickets issued are valid on any train on the same route if boarded within 24 hours of buying the ticket.

Description: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/NewDeli_Mumbai_Rajdhani_AC_2_tier_new_livery.jpg/220px-NewDeli_Mumbai_Rajdhani_AC_2_tier_new_livery.jpg

Seen here is the Mumbai Rajdhani Express. Rajdhanis are long-distance high-speed and high-priority trains connecting major state capitals with New Delhi

Description: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Rajdhani_First_AC1.jpg/220px-Rajdhani_First_AC1.jpg

Interior of a First Class(1A) compartment in the Rajdhani Express

Description: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/CC_class_seats_in_Mysore_Shatabdi.JPG/220px-CC_class_seats_in_Mysore_Shatabdi.JPG

Air-conditioned Chair Car (CC) coaches in an Shatabdi Express.

Description: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/Habibganj-JabalpurJS.jpg/220px-Habibganj-JabalpurJS.jpg

Interior of an air-conditioned Chair Car coach(CC) in an Jan Shatabdi Express.

Description: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Indian_sleeper_coach.jpg/220px-Indian_sleeper_coach.jpg

A typical sleeper class coach

At the rear of the train is a special compartment known as the guard's cabin. It is fitted with a transceiver and is where the guard usually gives the all clear signal before the train departs.

Notable trains and achievements