1.1.2.4. Distribution of Railways in India

The network of the Indian Railways is the largest in Asia and fourth largest in the world. It is the life-line of the country catering to its need for large-scale movement of traffic, both passengers and freight. Mahatma Gandhi said, the Indian railways “brought people of diverse cultures together to contribute to India’s freedom struggle.”

Indian Railway was introduced in 1853, when a line was constructed from Bombay to Thane covering a distance of 34 km. Indian Railways is the largest government undertaking in the country. The length of Indian Railways network is about 64,000 km. It’s very large size puts lots of pressure on a centralised railway management system. Thus, in India, the railway system has been divided into sixteen zones.

On the basis of width of the track of Indian Railways, three categories have been made:

Broad Gauge: The distance between the rails in the broad gauge is 1.676 metres. The total length of broad gauge line is about 46,800 km, which accounts for about 74 per cent of the total length of rail routes in the country.

Metre Gauge: The distance between the rails in the metre gauge is one metre. The total length of the metre gauge line is about 13,300 km, which accounts for about 21 per cent of the total length of rail routes in the country.

Narrow Gauge: The distance between the rails in the narrow gauge is 0.762 metre or 0.610 metre. The total length of the narrow gauge is about 3,124 km, which accounts for about 5 per cent of the total length of rail routes in the country. The narrow gauge is generally confined to hilly areas.

The Government of India has nationalised the railways and adopted a policy of gauge conversion, mainly from metre gauge to broad gauge. The unigauge system of railways will assure larger capacity, higher speed and consequently cheaper transportation. The process of gauge conversion is very slow due to the shortage of funds and it will take many more years to bring the total railway system under single gauge.

The distribution of Indian Railway network has been influenced by the geographical, economical and political factors. The Northern Plains of India with level land, high density of population, fertile soils and intense agriculture activities presents the most favourable environment for the development of railways. The relief of Himalayas and the plateaus is not suitable for the large scale development of railway network. The development of railways is more in economically active areas. Railways also bring economic development and prosperity to those regions through which they pass. Due to this economic link, we find the highest density of railways near big urban and industrial centres, and also in areas which are rich in minerals and agricultural resources. The present railway system in India is the legacy of British Rule. They planned the pattern of the railway network according to their needs.