Rail transport in India

Railway Transport In India
Clockwise from top left: A Vande Bharat train-set; a WAP-7 electric locomotive; a metro train and a suburban train
Operation
National railway	Indian Railways
System length
Total	Regular/suburban: 68,584 km (42,616 mi)[1] With 29,719 km (18,467 mi) of the lines having two or more tracks, total running track length was 106,493 km (66,172 mi), while total trackage (including sidings) was 132,310 km (82,210 mi).[1] Metro: 895 km (556 mi)[2]
Double track	38,415 km (23,870 mi) (2023)[1][2]
Electrified	64,080 km (39,820 mi)[3][2]
Track gauge
1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge	65,977 km (40,996 mi)[1][4]
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge	245 km (152 mi)[2][4]
1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge	1,345 km (836 mi)[1]
762 mm (2 ft 6 in) and 610 mm (2 ft)	1,262 km (784 mi)[1]
Features
Longest tunnel	Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel, 11.215 km (6.969 mi)
No. bridges	156,417 (2023)[1]
Longest bridge	Bogibeel Bridge, 4.94 km (3.07 mi)[5]
No. stations	Total: 8016 Regular/Suburban: 6268[1] Metro: 748
Highest elevation	2,257 m (7,405 ft)
at	Ghum
Lowest elevation	3 m (10 ft)
at	Burra Bazar and Honnavar

Rail transport in India consists of primarily of passenger and freight shipments along an integrated rail network. Indian Railways (IR), a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India, operates India's national railway system. It is the primary owner and operator of rail operations throughout the country including suburban rail in major metros.

Majority of the metro urban rail networks are operated by independent bodies constituted for the purpose of the respective operations. Private owned rails exist in few places, mostly used to connect freight to the integrated rail network. Inter-city rail services are operated primarily by Indian Railways though efforts have been made to introduce privately operated trains as recently as 2022.

The national rail network comprised total route length of 68,584 km (42,616 mi), with more than 132,310 km (82,210 mi) of track and 8,000+ stations and is the fourth-largest in the world. It is one of the busiest networks in the world, transporting more than 11 billion passengers and 1.416 billion tonnes of freight annually. As of August 2024, more than 64,080 km (39,820 mi) of all the routes have been electrified with 25 KV AC electric traction. The rolling stock consisted of 318,196 freight wagons, 84,863 passenger coaches, 14,781 locomotives and other multiple units owned by Indian Railways apart from rail-sets operated by metro rail corporations.

Studies by economic historians have identified substantially beneficial economic effects from the Indian railway network.^[6][7]