Wikipedia:Today's featured article/August 16, 2007

Rail transport in India is one of the most common modes of long-distance transport. Rail operations are largely run by a state-owned company, Indian Railways. The rail network traverses the length and width of the country, covering a total length of 63,140 km (39,233 miles). It is one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, transporting over 5 billion passengers and over 350 million tonnes of freight annually. Its operations cover twenty-five states and three union territories and also link the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Railways were introduced to India in 1853, and by the time of India's independence in 1947 they had grown to forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit—Indian Railways—to form one of the largest networks in the world. Locomotives manufactured at several places in India are assigned codes identifying their gauge, kind of power and type of operation. Colour signal lights are used as signals, but in some remote areas of operation, the older semaphores and discs-based signalling are still in use. Accommodation classes range from general through first class AC. Trains have been classified according to speed and area of operation. Many trains are officially identified by a four-digit code, though many are commonly known by unique names also. The ticketing system has been computerised to a large extent, and there are reserved as well as unreserved categories of tickets. (more...)

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