Indian Railways organisational structure

Indian Railways is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It is headed by a Railway Board whose chairman reports to the Ministry of Railways. It is organized into separate functional groups or verticals while divided into 18 operational zones geographically. Each zone, headed by a General Manager, is semi-autonomous thus creating a matrix organization where the functional branches are under dual control.

## Railway Board

[edit]

In March 1905, the railway branch of the Public Works Department was transferred to the newly established railway board under the department of commerce and industry by the Indian Railway Board Act.[1] In 1908, the set up was re-organized on the recommendations of the Railway Finance Committee (1908) by constituting the Railway Board headed by a president as a separate department.[2] Pursuant to the Acworth committee's recommendations in 1921, the railway board was expanded to four members with the addition of a financial commissioner in 1924 apart from the chief commissioner, one commissioners responsible for ways and works, projects and stores and the other responsible for general administration, staff and traffic.[2] In 1929, an additional member was added to the board and was assigned the responsibility for staff, so that the member in charge of traffic could focus solely on transport and commercial matters.[3] In 1950, the railway board was re-constituted to four members with the senior-most functional member appointed the chairman of the board with no absolute over riding power.[4][5] In October 1954, the chairman of the board was made responsible for decisions on technical and policy matters, with the status of a principal secretary to the Government of India with an additional member added.[5] The board was expanded with an additional member responsible for electrical engineering in 1972 and a further member responsible for health in 1976.[6] In 2004, the board is expanded by the introduction of two new members responsible for signalling & telecom and for stores respectively.[7] In December 2019, the Union Cabinet decided to reduce the size of the board from eight to five.[8] The chairman of the railway board reports to the Ministry of Railways and act on behalf of the ministry. The following report to the railway board:[9][10]

* General managers of various zones
* Heads of functional divisions
* Heads/Managers of production units
* Heads of Public Sector Undertakings
* Heads of railway institutes
* Heads of special divisions

## Functional division

[edit]

The organization is divided into separate functional groups of traction, engineering, traffic, rolling stock, signalling, materials, personnel, RPF, finance, health and safety.[11]

## Zonal management

[edit]

In 1944, all the railway companies in existence at the time were taken over by the Government.[12] In December 1950, the Central Advisory Committee for Railways approved the plan for re-organizing Indian Railways into six regional zones which were divided subsequently to create newer zones. As of 2024, there are 17 operational zones of Indian Railways.[13] The zones are headed by a General manager and are further sub-divided into divisions. Each division is headed by a Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), who are responsible for the operation and maintenance in the respective divisions.[14] The 17 operational zones and their divisions are listed below. South Coast Railway zone is proposed to be created as the eighteenth zone, but is not yet operational as of 2023.[15]

Indian Railway Zones Indian Railway zones  Number | Railway zone  | Code  | Headquarters[16] | Established[17] | Route length[a][18] | Stations  | Divisions[19]

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

km  | miles
7  | Southern Railway | SR  | Chennai | 1951  | 5,093  | 3,164.6  | 727[20] | Chennai, Madurai, Palakkad, Salem, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli
8  | Central Railway | CR  | Mumbai CSMT | 1951  | 4,203.3  | 2,611.8  | 486[21] | Bhusawal, Mumbai CR, Nagpur, Pune, Solapur
9  | Western Railway | WR  | Mumbai Churchgate | 1951  | 6,156.6  | 3,825.5  | 1046[22] | Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Mumbai WR, Rajkot, Ratlam, Vadodara
4  | Eastern Railway | ER  | Kolkata | 1952  | 2,823.2  | 1,754.3  | 587[23] | Asansol, Howrah, Malda, Sealdah
1  | Northern Railway | NR  | Delhi | 1952  | 7,363  | 4,575.2  | 1013[24] | Ambala, Delhi, Firozpur, Lucknow, Moradabad, Jammu
2  | North Eastern Railway | NER  | Gorakhpur | 1952  | 3,470.5  | 2,156.5  | 537[25] | Izzatnagar, Lucknow, Varanasi
5  | South Eastern Railway | SER  | Kolkata | 1955  | 2,758.6  | 1,714.1  | 363[26] | Adra, Chakradharpur, Kharagpur, Ranchi
3  | Northeast Frontier Railway | NFR  | Guwahati | 1958  | 4,348  | 2,701.7  | 547[27] | Alipurduar, Katihar, Lumding, Rangiya, Tinsukia
6  | South Central Railway | SCR  | Secunderabad | 1966  | 6,560.5  | 4,076.5  | 701[28] | Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Nanded
18  | South Coast Railway | SCoR  | Visakhapatnam | 2019  | 3,062  | 1,902.6  |  | Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Guntakal
17  | Konkan Railway | KR  | CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai | 1984  | 756.25  | 469.9  | 40[29] |
16  | East Central Railway | ECR  | Hajipur | 1996  | 4,238  | 2,633.4  | 340[30] | Danapur, Dhanbad, Mughalsarai, Samastipur, Sonpur
14  | South East Central Railway | SECR  | Bilaspur | 1998  | 2,396.6  | 1,489.2  | 358[31] | Bilaspur, Nagpur, Raipur
11  | North Western Railway | NWR  | Jaipur | 2002  | 5,705.6  | 3,545.3  | 578[32] | Ajmer, Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur
15  | East Coast Railway | ECoR  | Bhubaneswar | 2003  | 3,017.2  | 1,874.8  | 133[33] | Khurda Road, Sambalpur, Rayagada
13  | North Central Railway | NCR  | Prayagraj | 2003  | 3,522.6  | 2,188.8  | 411[34] | Agra, Jhansi, Prayagraj
10  | South Western Railway | SWR  | Hubballi | 2003  | 3,661.8  | 2,275.3  | 381[35] | Bengaluru, Hubballi, Mysuru
12  | West Central Railway | WCR  | Jabalpur | 2003  | 3,060  | 1,901.4  | 247[36] | Bhopal, Jabalpur, Kota

1. ^ as of March 2023

## Structure

[edit]

In every zone, the functional verticals are represented by head of departments (HODs) responsible for the respective functions in the zone.[37] Each division has functional staff who report to the geographical divisional managers and functional HODs in a matrix organization and are tasked with the operation and maintenance of assets.[14]

Departments & Roles Zonal administration[37] Department  | HOD  | Divisional manager  | Function

|
|
|

Stores  | Principal Chief Materials Manager (PCMM)  | Sr. Divisional Material Manager  | Material stores for maintenance of infrastructure
Mechanical  | Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer (PCME)  | Sr. Divisional Mechanical Engineer (Diesel)  | Maintenance of diesel locomotives
Sr. Divisional Mechanical Engineer (Carriage & Wagon)  | Maintenance of rolling stock
Electrical  | Principal Chief Electrical Engineer (PCEE)  | Sr. Divisional Electrical Engineer (General)  | Maintenance of station lighting and power supply
Sr. Divisional Electrical Engineer (Traction distribution)  | Maintenance of overhead equipment
Sr. Divisional Electrical Engineer (Traction rolling stock)  | Maintenance of electric locomotives and Multiple units
Signal & Telecommunication  | Principal Chief Signal & Telecom Engineer (PCSTE)  | Sr. Divisional Signal & Telecommunication Engineer (DSTE)  | Management of the signalling and telecommunication infrastructure
Engineering  | Principal Chief Engineer (PCE)  | Sr. Divisional Engineer  | Maintenance of fixed assets
Sectional Sr. Divisional Engineer
Operations  | Principal Chief Operations Manager (PCOM)  | Sr. Divisional Operations Manager  | Train operations
Accounts  | Principal Financial Advisor (PFA)  | Sr. Divisional Finance Manager  | Accounting and financials
Commercial  | Principal Chief Commercial Manager (PCCM)  | Sr. Divisional Commercial Manager  | Passenger ticketing, checking, freight booking and fare collection
Medical  | Principal Chief Medical Director (PCMD)  | Chief Medical Superintendent  | Providing medical facilities
Safety  | Principal Chief Safety Officer (PCSO)  | Sr. Divisional Safety Officer  | Safety of train operations
Personnel  | Principal Chief Personnel Officer (PCPO)  | Sr. Divisional Personnel Officer  | Human resources
Security  | Principal Chief Security Commissioner (PCSC)  | Sr. Divisional Security Commissioner  | Security of railway material, passenger and belongings
Management  | Additional General Manager (AGM)  | Divisional Railway Manager  | Management of all departments

## Human Resources

[edit]

See also: Indian Railways Management Service and Railway Recruitment Control Board

Staff are classified into gazetted (Groups A and B) and non-gazetted (Groups C and D) employees with gazetted employees carrying out executive/managerial level tasks.[38] As of March 2022, Groups A & B constitute 1.5% of the total workforce, while Group C & D account for 98.5%.[16] 80% of Group-A employees are recruited through Indian Railways Management Service (IRMS) with remaining through promotions.[39] The various Group A cadres are as below include:[40]

* Central Civil Services recruitment through Civil Services Examination (CSE)
* Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)
* Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)
* Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)
* Indian Railway Protection Force Service (IRPFS)
* Central Engineering Services recruitment through Engineering Services Examination (ESE)
* Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE)
* Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE)
* Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME)
* Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE)
* Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS)
* Central Health Science Services recruitment through Combined Medical Services Examination (CMSE)
* Indian railway medical service (IRMS)

Group B employees are recruited by departmental promotional exams of Group C employees. Recruitment of Group C employees are through exams conducted by the Railway Recruitment Control Board (RRCB) and Group D staffs are recruited by zonal Railway Recruitment Cells (RRC).[41] Indian Railways operates seven centralized training institutes and 295 training centers.[16]

## See also

[edit]

* Centralised Training Institutes of the Indian Railways

* v
* t
* e

Indian Railways

Authority|

* Ministry of Railways
* Rail Bhavan
* Railway Board

Related
organisations|

* Central Organisation for Modernisation of Workshops (COFMOW)
* Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE)
* Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS)
* Commission of Railway Safety (CRS)
* Container Corporation of India (CCI)
* Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL)
* High Speed Rail Corporation of India Limited (HSRI)
* Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)
* Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC)
* Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC)
* Ircon International (IRCON)
* Konkan Railway Corporation (KRC)
* Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC)
* National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL)
* Passenger Amenities Committee (PAC)
* Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES)
* Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA)
* Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL)
* RailTel
* Railway Protection Force (RPF)
* Railway Recruitment Control Board (RRCB)
* Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB)
* Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO)

Zones|

* Central
* East Central
* East Coast
* Eastern
* Kolkata Metro
* North Central
* North Eastern
* North Western
* Northeast Frontier
* Northern
* South Central
* South Coast
* South East Central
* South Eastern
* South Western
* Southern
* West Central
* Western

Rolling stock|

| Coaching Stock|

* ICF coach
* LHB coach
* Tejas coach

|

Trainsets|

* Amrit Bharat
* Namo Bharat Rapid Rail
* Multiple units
* Shinkansen
* Vande Bharat
* Vande Bharat Sleeper

* Locomotives
* Wagon Numbering

Manufacturing
units|

* Banaras Locomotive Works
* BEML Limited
* Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
* Bharat Wagon and Engineering
* Braithwaite & Co.
* Burn Standard Company
* Chittaranjan Locomotive Works
* Diesel Locomotive Factory
* Electric Locomotive Factory
* Integral Coach Factory
* Marathwada Rail Coach Factory
* Modern Coach Factory
* Patiala Locomotive Works
* Rail Coach Factory (Kapurthala)
* Rail Coach Factory (Sonipat)
* Rail Wheel Factory
* Rail Wheel Plant
* Titagarh Wagons

Railway
depots|

| Diesel Loco|

* Abu Road
* Alambagh
* Andal
* Bandra
* Bardhaman
* Bhagat Ki Kothi
* Bondamunda
* Coonoor
* Ernakulam
* Erode
* Gandhidham
* Golden Rock
* Gonda
* Gooty
* Guntakal
* Howrah
* Hubli
* Itarsi
* Izzatnagar
* Jamalpur
* Jhansi
* Kalka
* Kalyan
* Kazipet
* Kharagpur
* Krishnarajapuram
* Kurla
* Ludhiana
* Lumding
* Malda Town
* Maula Ali
* Mhow
* Motibagh
* Mughalsarai
* New Guwahati City
* New Katni Jn.
* Patratu
* Pratapnagar
* Pune
* Raipur
* Ratlam
* Sabarmati
* Samastipur
* Shakurbasti
* Siliguri
* Tondiarpet
* Tughlakabad
* Vatva
* Vijayawada
* Visakhapatnam

|

Electric Loco|

* Ajni
* Angul
* Arakkonam
* Asansol
* Barauni
* Bhilai
* Bhusawal
* Bilaspur
* Bokaro Steel City
* Bondamunda
* Erode
* Ghaziabad
* Gomoh
* Gorakhpur
* Guntakal
* Howrah
* Ispat Nagar
* Itarsi
* Jhansi
* Kalyan
* Kanpur
* Kazipet
* Khanalampura
* Lallaguda
* Ludhiana
* Mughalsarai
* Nagpur
* New Katni Jn.
* Rourkela
* Royapuram
* Saharanpur
* Saiyedpur Bhitri
* Tatanagar
* Tughlakabad
* Vadodara
* Valsad
* Vijayawada
* Visakhapatnam

Steam Loco|

* Coonoor
* Rewari

Multiple Unit|

| DEMU/DMU|

* Bangalore
* Budgam
* Gondia
* Jalandhar
* Jamalpur
* Motibagh
* Maula Ali
* Shakurbasti
* Vijayawada

|

EMU|

* Avadi
* Bandel
* Barasat
* Ghaziabad
* Howrah
* Kalwa
* Kandivali
* Kharagpur
* Kurla
* Maula Ali
* Mumbai Central
* Narkeldanga
* Panskura
* Ranaghat
* Saharanpur
* Sanpada
* Sonarpur
* Tambaram
* Tikiapara
* Velachery
* Virar

MEMU|

* Asansol
* Bhilai
* Kanpur
* Kollam
* Palakkad
* Rajahmundry
* Vadodara

Kolkata Metro|

* Noapara
* Tollygunge
* New Garia
* Central Park
* Joka

Lines|

| Main|

* Chennai–Bangalore
* Howrah–Prayagraj–Mumbai
* Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai
* Howrah–Chennai
* Howrah–Delhi
* Howrah–Gaya–Delhi
* Mumbai–Chennai
* New Delhi–Chennai
* New Delhi–Mumbai

|

High-speed|

* Mumbai–Ahmedabad (Under construction)

Suburban|

* Chennai MRTS
* Chennai Suburban
* Delhi Suburban
* Pune Suburban
* Hyderabad MMTS
* Kolkata Suburban
* Mumbai Suburban

Mountain|

* Darjeeling
* Kalka-Shimla
* Nilgiri

Passenger
trains|

| Semi-High speed|

* Amrit Bharat Express
* Duronto Express
* Gatimaan Express
* Tejas Express
* Rajdhani Express
* Shatabdi Express
* Vande Bharat Express

|

Premium|

* AC Express
* AC Double Decker Express
* Humsafar Express
* Uday Express

Express|

* Antyodaya Express
* Garib Rath Express
* Intercity Express
* Jan Sadharan Express
* Jan Shatabdi Express
* Mahamana Express
* Sampark Kranti Express
* Suvidha Express
* Rajya Rani Express
* Vivek Express
* Yuva Express

Luxury|

* Deccan Odyssey
* Fairy Queen
* Golden Chariot
* Mahaparinirvan Express
* Maharajas' Express
* Palace on Wheels
* Ramayana Express
* Royal Orient
* Royal Rajasthan on Wheels
* Village on Wheels

Special|

* Lifeline Express
* Red Ribbon Express
* Science Express

Others|

* Passenger trains
* Namo Bharat Rapid Rail

Stations|

| Major|

| Chennai|

* Chennai Central
* Chennai Egmore
* Tambaram

|

Delhi|

* Delhi Jn.
* Hazrat Nizamuddin
* New Delhi

Kolkata|

* Howrah
* Howrah South
* Sealdah

Mumbai|

* Dadar
* Kalyan Jn.
* Mumbai Central
* Mumbai CSMT
* Mumbai LTT
* Panvel
* Thane

Others|

* Ahmedabad Jn.
* Gorakhpur Jn.
* KSR Bengaluru
* Patna Jn.
* Pune Jn.
* Secunderabad Jn.
* Surat
* Vijayawada Jn.
* Visakhapatnam Jn.

Others|

* Junctions
* Metro

Training
institutes|

* Indian Railways Institute of Civil Engineering (IRICEN)
* Indian Railways Institute of Electrical Engineering (IRICEE)
* Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE)
* Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications (IRISET)
* Indian Railways Track Machine Training Centre (IRTMTC)
* National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR)
* National Rail and Transportation Institute (NRTI)
* Jagjivan Ram Railway Protection Force Academy (JRRPFA)

Trade unions|

* All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF)
* All India Station Masters' Association (AISMA)
* Konkan Railway Corporation Employees Union (KRCEU)

Related articles|

* Accidents
* Anti-collision device
* Kavach
* Future
* Diamond Quadrilateral
* History of Rail Transport
* Last vehicle board
* Railway budget
* Railway schools
* Train Warning System
* Urban Rail Transit

* Category

## References

[edit]

1. ^ The Indian Railway Board Act, 1905 (PDF). Parliament of India. 1905.
2. ^ a b IRFC (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
3. ^ "History of Indian Railways". IRFCA. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
4. ^ Overview of Indian Railways (PDF) (Report). National Academy of Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
5. ^ a b "History of Indian Railways". IRFCA. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
6. ^ "History of Indian Railways". IRFCA. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
7. ^ "History of Indian Railways". IRFCA. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
8. ^ "Cabinet approves restructuring of Railway Board". Livemint. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
9. ^ Rao, M.A. (1988). Indian Railways. New Delhi: National Book Trust. pp. 49–54\. ISBN 978-8-1237-2589-5.
10. ^ Organization chart (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
11. ^ Organization Chart (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
12. ^ Evolution of Indian Railways-Historical Background (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
13. ^ List of zones and divisions (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
14. ^ a b India's railway history : a research handbook. Brill. 3 August 2012. p. 270\. ISBN 978-9-0042-3003-3. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
15. ^ "Cabinet approves South Coast Railway zone" (Press release). Government of India. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
16. ^ a b c Year book 2021-22 (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
17. ^ Indian railway zones (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
18. ^ Route map, 2023 (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
19. ^ List of zones and divisions (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
20. ^ List of stations, SR (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
21. ^ Divisions of CR (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
22. ^ "System map, WR" (PDF). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
23. ^ Category wise stations, ER (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
24. ^ System map, NR (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
25. ^ "System map, NER" (PDF). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
26. ^ "Category of stations, SER". Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
27. ^ Station classification, NFR (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
28. ^ "Number of stations, SCR". Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
29. ^ "Kolkata metro map". Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
30. ^ UTS locations, ECR (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
31. ^ "System map, SECR" (PDF). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
32. ^ "About us, NWR". Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
33. ^ Classification of stations, ECoR (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
34. ^ System map, NCR (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
35. ^ "Category wise stations, SWR". Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
36. ^ "Category wise list of stations, WCR". Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
37. ^ a b Organization chart, Zonal railway (PDF) (Report). Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
38. ^ "Railway Board Directorates". Indian Railways. Archived from the original on 30 May 2012.
39. ^ "Recruitment to Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) to be done through a specially designed examination (IRMS Examination)" (Press release). Government of India. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
40. ^ "Railway board". Indian Railways. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
41. ^ Indian Railways Establishment Manual (Report). RRCB. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2023.

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