Indian Railways (IR) is called the lifeline of the country. It transports passengers and freight to all corners of India. Thus, it plays an important role in the economic development of the country, especially by supporting industry and agriculture.

IR is one of the busiest and largest rail networks in the world. Only USA, China and Russia do better. It ferries around 23 million passengers every day on around 9000 passenger trains. It is also the world’s largest utility employer with strength of 1.4 million employees. It carts 2 million tons of freight daily and covers a route of over 63,000 km and 7000 stations.

The IR dates back two centuries. The first railway line was set up in 1851 to transfer material for construction to Roorkee. But the first passenger train was chugged off from Bombay to Thane in 1854. It covered a route of 21 miles and heralded the IR network in India.

The IR network is crucial in binding together persons from all classes, castes, ethnicity, religion and regions of the country. It holds together the social and economic fabric of the country. Connecting all four corners- North, South, East and West, it is instrumental in ensuring the political unity of the country.

The IR system is managed directly by the Government of India with a separate department of the Ministry of Railways.  Because of the gargantuan size of the country, Indian Railways is divided into 16 zones that make its administration simpler.

The following are the main railways zones along with their headquarters:

• East Central Zone: Hajipur
• Central Zone: Mumbai
• East Coast Zone: Bhubaneswar
• North Central Zone: Allahabad
• Eastern Zone: Kolkata
• North Eastern Zone: Gorakhpur
• Northeast Frontier Zone: Guwahati
• North Western Zone: Jaipur
• Northern Zone: Delhi
• South East Central Zone: Bilaspur
• South Central Zone: Secunderabad
• South Eastern Zone: Kolkata
• Southern Zone: Chennai
• South Western Zone: Hubli
• Western Zone: Mumbai
• West Central Zone: Jabalpur
• Konkan zone: Belapur Mumbai

 Each zone is divided into divisions and there are 68 divisions in total. Each of the zones is helmed by a General Manager, who reports to the Railway board. The divisions are controlled by division managers. Below them are the station masters who lord over stations and train movement.

To get an idea of the IR network, one requires a railway map of India. Several websites offer the service of providing map of Indian railway. One of the best sites is Mapsofindia.com. It provides an Indian railways train map which reveals the IR network across the country indicating different zones like Eastern Railway, Central Railway, etc.

Another website http://indiatrain.atlas-map.com also provides a comprehensive map of the Indian railways network. It indicates details like trunk routes, routes undergoing gauge conversion, international routes, etc. It highlights especially major trains, capitals of states, divisional headquarters and railway zone headquarters. Indian railway map of India provided by this site is useful for one and all.

Indian Railways uses four gauges: The 1,435 mm standard gauge; the 1,676 mm broad gauge, two narrow gauges, 762 mm and 610 mm and the 1,000 mm meter gauge. Track sections are counted for speeds that range from 75 to 160 km/h. The main gauge of the IR is the Broad gauge.

The types of trains of the IR are Duronto Express, Rajdhani Express, AC express, Shatabdi express, Garib Rath, Jan Shatabdi express, Intercity super fast mail, Fast passenger, Suburban trains and Metro.

Indian Railways has many classes of travel with the basic distinction between air-conditioned (AC) and non AC types. The following are the list of classes (but all trains may not have all classes);

• First class AC: The most expensive class where fares may be equal to that of flights. It has attendants to help passengers. Sleeper berths are very spacious. Coaches are carpeted and have personal coupes. This coach is available on the meter gauge and broad gauge trains.

• 2 tier AC: These AC coaches have sleeping berths featuring 8 bays. Curtains for privacy are provided.

• First Class: It is top class but without AC. Berths are spacious, but no bedding will be provided. This class is rare to find except on hills station railways.

• AC 3 TIER: AC coaches with 64 berths in each. Berths are arranged in 3 tiers. There are no curtains or reading lights and this coach is available only in broad gauge.

• AC 3 tier (economy): AC coaches having sleeping berths found in Garib Rath trains. They are less well appointed than AC 3-tier with no curtains, reading lights or bedding.

• AC chair car: An AC seater coach with five seats in a row used for commuting between cities.

• Executive class chair car: Found only in Shatabdi express, it features 4 seats in a row with AC and spacious legroom.

• Sleeper coach: Most common on IR trains. Regular sleeping coaches with 3-tier facility and carries 72 passengers in broad gauge.

• Seater class: Seats without AC and have reserved/ unreserved facility.

• Unreserved: The least expensive, it features wooden berths in most or cushioned berths in new trains. These overcrowded trains do not have any guarantee of seat availability.

Indian railways map of India is useful for getting information about types and routes of trains. Information on trains must include what kind of classes are available. This is useful for the tourism sector.

The government provides a map of IR network at the site http://www.indianrail.gov.in/.  It also provides the IR Atlas, which gives information on rail routes, train schedules, station index and other figures and facts about IR in 48 pages with Maps.

The maps of Indian Railways help to plan your journey, minimizing time and effort.