Railways
Railway transportation is cheaper than roadways and is an important means of transport in India for both passengers and goods. It’s especially convenient for long journeys and has played a vital role in the country’s economic development. The railway was first introduced in Britain in 1820, and Europe and North America have the densest railway networks. Belgium has the greatest railway density in Europe. In 1853, the railway was introduced in India when Mumbai was connected to Thane by rail. Today, India has the largest railway network in Asia and the fourth largest in the world. There are a number of long railways in the world. The longest of them include the Trans-continental Railways in America and Canada, which join many cities of the West Coast to those of the East Coast. In Europe, the Grand Orient Express operates between Paris (France) and Istanbul (Turkey), through several countries along the route. In Asia, the Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest railway running from St. Petersburg in the west to Vladivostok in the east.
So far as rapid railway systems are concerned, many countries are running very fast trains. China operates the fastest train which runs at 430 km per hour. The other countries to operate very fast trains include Japan, France, Spain and other countries. Many European cities like London, Paris and Moscow have a fine system of underground railways, called tube train.
Railways in India:
The railway in India is operated by the Indian Railways. There is an extensive network of railways in our country. It is difficult to lay railway in hills and deserts, but in India, we have connected several of hilly and desert towns. The total length of railway in India is about 69,182 kilometres. The length of electrified railway in India is over 11,000 kilometres, second only to Russia, in the world.
So far as passenger trains are concerned, India operates both slow passenger trains to fast mail and express trains. The fastest trains in India include the Gatiman Express (160 kmph), Bhopal Shatabdi (140 kmph), Mumbai Rajdhani (140 kmph) and Vande Bharat Express (130 kmph), among others.
India is expanding its Metro Rail network to many cities. It is already operational in many cities including Kolkata, Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kochi, Lucknow and other cities.
The Monorail is operational in Mumbai.
To carry goods, India has a large network of goods trains. Now, it is building a dedicated freight corridor to carry goods exclusively.