Mind Blowing Facts About The Indian Railways You Didn't Know!

1] The 1st Train...

The first train that traveled in India was on 21st December 1851. It was used by the Bengal PWD department in Roorkee. The first locomotive was designed and built in India as well.

2] The Oldest Train

The Guinness Book of World Records gives the title of the oldest running steam locomotive to the Fairy Queen. It was built back in the year 1855 and again restored in 1996. This train is operational from October to March and runs from Delhi to Alwar.

3] Total Length

As of 31st March 2015, the Indian Railway route is 66,030 Km long. To understand it more clearly, you can cover the circumference of the Earth one and half times.

4] Connecting India

From busy metropolitan cities to far away small towns and villages, the Indian Railways connect them all. India has a total of 7137 railway stations across the country. "Ib" is the shortest name of the station which is near Jharsauguda on the Nagpur-Howrah track. Whereas, "WR. Venkatanarasimharajuvariipeta" is the longest name of a station which lies in the Renigunta-Arakkonam section of the Southern Zone.

5] Number of Passengers

Every year, the Indian Railways carry more than 8 billion people along its vast railway network. This is more than the total human population on the Earth. more than 22 million people travel on a daily basis which is the entire population of Austrailia.

6] Largest Employer

The Indian Railways ranks 8th in the world for having the maximum number of employees with the number standing at 1.3 million in 2015. The number of employees may have increased after that.

7] Number of Zones

Back in 1947, the Indian railways didn't exist. There were 42 independent railway systems which were later unified in 1951, which created the Indian Railways. It was grouped in six railway zones. Today, the Indian railways have 16 zones and 69 divisions which covers every nook and corner of this vast country.

8] Longest Running Train

Named after Swami Vivekananda, the Vivek Express is the longest running train in India. Starting from Dibrugarh in Assam, this train travels a staggering 4273 Kms to reach its destination Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. It takes 4 days and 3 nights to cover this distance.

9] Non- Stop Running Longest Train

The longest non-stop running train is the H. Nizamuddin - Trivandrum Rajdhani Express. This train covers a whopping 528 Km distance between Kota and Vadodara in about 6 and half hours without stopping at any other station.

10] First Toilet...

More than 50 years later after the first train that ever ran on Indian soil, the Indian Railways finally added toilets to the trains. This happened because once a passenger named Okhil Chandra Sen, who faced quite an inconvenience due to the absence of toilets, wrote an angry letter to the railway authorities back in 1909. The Indian Railway Museum has this letter's transcript on display.

11] Toy Train

The list of incredible facts about the Indian Railways is incomplete without the mention of this famous Toy Train. This train runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling on its Indian made steam engine. This train was built by the Britishers in 1881.

12] Highest Railway Bridge

A railway steel and concrete arch bridge being constructed over the Chenab River in Reasi district of J&K. This bridge is called the Chenab Bridge and once completed, it will be one of the highest railway bridge in the world with a height of 359 meters. It would be higher than the Eiffel Tower and 5 times higher than Qutab Minar.

13] IRCTC Website Traffic

The IRCTC website is the official website of the Indian Railways. It gets close to mind-boggling 12 lakh or 1.2 million hits every minute. It is one of the most visited websites on the internet in the world.

14] A Station Built On 2 States

The Navapur railway station is literally built on two states. Half of the station is on the land of Gujarat and the other half is on Maharashtra.

15] Key Role During the 1947 Partition

During the India-Pakistan partition in 1947, over 1.3 million Muslims and 1 million non-Muslims were evacuated from either direction during last week of August till November end. The trains which ran between this time were known as the "India Special" or "Pakistan Special" and helped a large number of refugees to travel from one place to another.

16] Largest Route Relay Interlocking System

The New Delhi Railway station holds the Guinness World Record for having the largest Route Relay Interlocking system in the whole world.

17] World Heritage Sites by UNESCO

UNESCO has declared four Indian Railway sites as "World Heritage sites". These railway sites are:

1. Mumbai CST Building (2004)
2. Kalka-Shimla Railways (2008)
3. Neelgiri Mountain Railways (2005)
4. Darjeeling, Himalayan Railway (1999)

18] Indian Railways Initiative

The Indian Railways has started the Red Ribbon Express which spreads awareness in the society about AIDS/HIV. This train was started on December 1st, 2007 which is the World AIDS Day.

Hope you liked the article. If you have some amazing fact about Indian Railways that isn't mentioned here, then feel free to comment below.