Railway Zones & Headquarters in India: Indian Railway Zones & Divisions List with Quick Facts For UPSC

Published: Thursday, July 7, 2022, 20:03 [IST]

The lifeline of Common Indian Man; Indian Railways is Asia's biggest rail network as well as it is the fourth biggest rail network in the world. With over 126,366 km (78,520 mi) of track over a route of 67,368 km (41,861 mi) and 7,325 stations it is the largest Departmental Undertaking in India.

Indian Railways is operational in 19 zones across the country. These zones are further divided into 70 divisions with respective Divisional Headquarters. An employer with 1.254 million employees; Indian Railways it stands at world number 8 in terms of employment generator as per the records of Marc 2020. In this article you will learn about some facts about Indian Railways along with a list of its Zonal headquarters and Divisions, which is important from an examination point of view.

List Of Railway Zones & Headquarters in India

Important Questions On Indian Railways

Here we are presenting some questions that are generally asked in the examination.

Indian Railway is divided into how many zones?

It is divided into 19 zones.

Which is the largest rail network in the world?

The rail network of the United States is known as the biggest Rail network in the world followed by Russia, China and India.

When did the first passenger train run in India?

The first passenger train in India ran on April 16, 1853 from Bombay to Thane. It ran on a line of 34 kilometres and operated by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway.

When did the very first train run in India?

The first train in India ran from Red Hills to Chintadripet bridge in 1836-1837 and was known as Red Hill Railway.

When did the first railway budget was presented?

The first railway budget was presented in 1924 in British India.

Who presented the first rail budget of Independent India?

John Mathai presented the first Railway Budget for independent India in November 1947. He was the second finance minister of India from 1949-51.

Who is the Head of Railway Divisions?

Railway division is headed by a Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) and he reports to the General Manager of that railway zone.

When did the first Metro rail come into existence?

The Calcutta Metro is known as the first metro rail in India which started on October 24, 1984.

When did the first Shatabdi train was introduced in India?

The first Shatabdi Train was introduced in India in 1988 between New Delhi and Jhansi which later extended to Bhopal.

Which railway zone is biggest in India?

The Northern Railway Zone is the biggest in India with a 6807 kilometre route. This zone covers the state of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh and the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Chandigarh.

List Of Indian Railway Zones With Headquarters

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Railway Zone	Code	Zone Headquarter	Route Length	Railway Divisions
2	Central Railway	CR	Mumbai CSMT	4,102	Mumbai, Bhusawal, Pune, Solapur, Nagpur CR
3	Konkan Railway	KR	Navi Mumbai	741	Karwar, Ratnagiri
4	Metro Railway, Kolkata	MTP	Kolkata	39	-
5	Northern Railway	NR	Delhi	6,968	Delhi, Ambala, Firozpur, Lucknow NR, Moradabad
6	North Central Railway	NCR	Prayagraj	3,151	Prayagraj, Agra, Jhansi
7	North Eastern Railway	NER	Gorakhpur	3,667	Izzatnagar, Lucknow NER, Varanasi
8	Northeast Frontier Railway	NFR	Maligaon, Guwahati	3,948	Alipurduar, Katihar, Rangiya, Lumding, Tinsukia
9	North Western Railway	NWR	Jaipur	5,459	Jaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur
10	Eastern Railway	ER	Fairlie Place, Kolkata	2,414	Howrah, Sealdah, Asansol, Malda
11	East Central Railway	ECR	Hajipur	3,628	Danapur, Dhanbad, Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, Samastipur, Sonpur
12	East Coast Railway	ECoR	Bhubaneswar	2,204	Khurda Road, Sambalpur, Rayagada
13	Southern Railway	SR	Chennai Central	5,079	Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Palakkad, Salem, Thiruvananthapuram
14	South Central Railway	SCR	Secunderabad Junction	3,127	Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Nanded
15	South Coast Railway	SCoR	Visakhapatnam	3,496	Waltair, Vijayawada, Guntur, Guntakal
16	South Eastern Railway	SER	Garden Reach, Kolkata	2,631	Adra, Chakradharpur, Kharagpur, Ranchi
17	South East Central Railway	SECR	Bilaspur	2,447	Bilaspur, Raipur, Nagpur SEC
18	South Western Railway	SWR	Hubballi	3,566	Hubballi, Bengaluru, Mysuru
19	Western Railway	WR	Mumbai (Churchgate)	6,182	Mumbai WR, Ratlam, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Vadodara
20	West Central Railway	WCR	Jabalpur	2,965	Jabalpur, Bhopal, Kota