MILESTONES

1947

Post-Partition, India gets a route network of 49,523 km (broad gauge and metre gauge) and 5,370 km of narrow gauge. With 8,120 steam locomotives, besides 72 electric and 17 diesel-fuelled ones, Indian Railways (IR) transports 3.52 million passengers and 0.2 million tonnes of freight every day

1951-52

All agencies and entities governing railways are restructured into regional zones. Two years later, the Railway Board is constituted to take all decisions related to policy, technology and operations

1955

First fully AC train starts operations between Howrah and Delhi, followed by another between Delhi and Bombay Central. Later, a buffet-cumcinema car is added to Janata Express

1956

With the help of French major SNCF, the Railway Electrification

Project is started. Till then only some suburban trains, principally in Mumbai, were electrified

1957

A track from Rajkharsawan to

Dangoaposi (in present-day Jharkhand) is electrified. Subsequently, fully electrified trains also run on this track

1962

Trams are discontinued in Delhi

1969

First superfast train, Rajdhani Express, between Howrah and New Delhi, is flagged off

1971-80

IR’s progress is halted due to the Indo-Pak war, political instability etc. The stress is on the timely arrival of trains during Emergency. ‘Two-inch foams’ are added to second-class berths

2002

IR starts online

ticketing and reservation system. Delhi Metro starts operations

1996

Computerised reservation

system starts in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai

1988

Delhi-Mumbai route is electrified, followed by Delhi-Chennai. The first

Shatabdi runs between New Delhi and Jhansi, and is later extended to Bhopal

1984

The country gets its first mass rapid transit line with Calcutta Metro—the track between Esplanade and Bhowanipur starts

2006

Private players are allowed to operate freight movement. The Dedicated Freight

Corridor project is announced, which would take more than a decade to take off

2009

IR’s revenue surplus reaches a record low of Rs 75 lakh, but still fares are not raised.

This puts pressure on financial performance and several projects go slow

2012

Railways minister Dinesh Trivedi

loses job after announcing the first hike in fares in eight years Dedicated Freight Corridor is revived; 70 per cent of it is commissioned; the rest is expected next year

First of the recommendations is followed and IR starts exploring extra-budgetary borrowings.

It lines up Rs 1 lakh crore from LIC as debt

2015

The Bibek Debroy panel for major projects and restructuring of the ministry and the Railway Board lay down a detailed roadmap of reforms

2016

Gatimaan Express (India’s fastest train) makes its maiden journey from Delhi to Agra

2017

GE delivers the first privately manufactured madein-India locomotive. IR decides to cut diesel consumption drastically and move to electricity

2018

French company Alstom delivers electric locomotives

2019

Vande Bharat, the country’s semi-high speed train, is launched

2022

13,523 trains ferry over 23 million people, transport 3.89 metric tonnes of freight daily. There are 7,325 stations. IR has 2,93,077 freight wagons, and 76,608 coaches and 12,729 locomotives