Indian Railways is a government owned organisation, operating trains to almost every nook and corner of the country. For its world class rail travel services, Indian Railways is famous across the globe. One of the biggest organisations of India, Indian Railways is overseen by the Ministry of Railways, headed by Laloo Prasad Yadav, the Union Minister for Railways.



With a rail network of around 64,000 km and over 14,000 trains, Indian Railways is considered one of the world's biggest railway operators. According to an estimate, everyday Indian Railways transports more than 18 million passengers and over 2 millions tonnes of freight. Indian Railways is world's biggest commercial (utility) employer, having around 1.5 million employees. Indian Railways is divided into different zones, which are further sub-divided into several divisions. Currently, Indian Railways has16 zones and 67 divisions, which look after the railway tracks, train operations and other related works of the respective areas.

Indian Railways offers both long distance and suburban rail travel on a network of broad gauge, metre gauge and narrow gauges tracks. In fact, Indian Railways offer rail travel to the length and breadth of the country. Based on their necessities and budget, passengers can choose rail travel to their desired destinations. Rail travel in India is favoured choice among common people and one can choose his or her journey class accordingly.

For rail travel across India, Indian Railways operates trains in various categories such as passenger, mail and superfast. In addition to these, rail travel to some hilly areas of the country is also provided by Indian Railways. Rail travel to hilly areas is referred as ?Mountain Railways? and it is available to famous hill stations like Shimla, Darjeeling and Nilgiri Hills. Indian Railways also operates some special trains like Palace on Wheels, Deccan Odyssey, etc. offering luxurious services during rail travel.

For making the journey hassle free, Indian Railways offers advance railway reservation facility to passengers. You can do your railway reservation three months in advance from the date of journey. Railway reservation facility is probably available in almost all the railway stations of the country. Visit the computerised reservation counter nearest from your home to make your railway reservation.

Indian Railways also offers online railway reservation facility through IRCTC official website. By registering yourself online on the IRCTC website you can plan your rail travel and also do railway reservation by paying a reasonable service charge. If you book a ticket through online railway reservation system, you need to carry an ID proof during the journey.