Question
Give a detailed account of the development of railways in India and highlight their importance.
Solution
Indian railways network is one of the longest in the world. Indian railways is the largest government undertaking in the country. Its network is the fourth biggest network in the world. The total length of Indian Railways network is 63221 km.
In India the railway system has been divided in 16 zones due to its very large size.
Indian railways has launched extensive programme o converts the metro and narrow' gauge into broad gauge. Moreover, steam engines have been replaced by diesel and electric engines. This step increased the speed as well as the haulage capacity.
Metro rail revolutionised the urban transport system in Kolkata and Delhi.
The following table shows the performance of Indian Railways:
Table : Indian Railways Zone-wise income from passengers and goods (Rupees in lakhs)
|
Railway Zone |
Headquarters |
Earnings from Passengers % |
Earnings from Goods % |
% of Total earnings |
|
Central |
Mumbai CST |
13.62 |
8.36 |
10.07 |
|
Eastern |
Kolkata |
6.18 |
3.3 |
4.24 |
|
East Central |
Hajipur |
5.19 |
7.84 |
6.98 |
|
East Coast |
Bhubaneswar |
2.27 |
9.69 |
7.27 |
|
Northern |
New Delhi |
15.38 |
8.94 |
11.04 |
|
North Central |
Allahabad |
6.71 |
8.76 |
8.09 |
|
North Eastern |
Gorakhpur |
3.44 |
1.55 |
2.17 |
|
North East Frontier |
Maligaon (Guwahati) |
2.34 |
2.59 |
2.51 |
|
North Western |
Jaipur |
3.44 |
3.04 |
3.17 |
|
Southern |
Chennai |
8.74 |
3.78 |
5.4 |
|
South Central |
Secunderabad |
8.45 |
8.88 |
8.74 |
|
South Eastern |
Kolkata |
3.23 |
7.86 |
6.36 |
|
South East Central |
Bilaspur |
1.7 |
8.91 |
6.56 |
|
South Western |
Hubli |
3.5 |
2.27 |
2.67 |
|
Western |
Mumbai (Church Gate) |
12.16 |
7.32 |
8.9 |
|
West Central |
Jabalpur |
3.62 |
6.91 |
5.83 |
|
Total |
100 |
100 |
100 |
The importance of railways are as followings :
1. They are very useful for carrying heavy goods at long distances as compared to other means of transport.
2. Railways have got for greater capacity for hauling goods them other means of transport. About 4/5 of entire goods traffic. About 4/5 of entire goods traffic in India is carried by railways.
3. They are cheaper than other means of transport.
4. They provide employment to about 1603000 workers as regular employees and 200000 as casual labourers.
5. They link all the capitals of states, important cities and ports and trade centres.
