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Indian Railways organisational structure

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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

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.{{cite act|url=https://lddashboard.legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1905-4.pdf|title=The Indian Railway Board Act, 1905|legislature=Parliament of India|year=1905}} 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.{{cite report|url=https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/codesmanual/irfc1/chapter%20-%201%20(R).pdf|title=IRFC|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}} 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. 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.{{cite web|url=https://irfca.org/faq/faq-history3.html|title=History of Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023|work=IRFCA}} 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.{{cite report|url=https://nair.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1430369298618-general%20overview.pdf|title=Overview of Indian Railways|publisher=National Academy of Indian Railways|access-date=1 January 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://irfca.org/faq/faq-history4.html|title=History of Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023|work=IRFCA}} 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. The board was expanded with an additional member responsible for electrical engineering in 1972 and a further member responsible for health in 1976.{{cite web|url=https://irfca.org/faq/faq-history5.html|title=History of Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023|work=IRFCA}} In 2004, the board is expanded by the introduction of two new members responsible for signalling & telecom and for stores respectively.{{cite web|url=https://irfca.org/faq/faq-history6.html|title=History of Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023|work=IRFCA}} In December 2019, the Union Cabinet decided to reduce the size of the board from eight to five.{{cite news|url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/cabinet-approves-restructuring-of-railway-board-11577181494500.html|title=Cabinet approves restructuring of Railway Board|date=24 December 2019|work=Livemint|access-date=1 December 2023}}

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:{{cite book|last=Rao|first=M.A.|year=1988|title=Indian Railways|location=New Delhi|publisher=National Book Trust|isbn=978-8-1237-2589-5|pages=49–54}}{{cite report|url=https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/stat_econ/Year_Book/Org_Chart_1.pdf|title=Organization chart|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

  • 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

The organization is divided into separate functional groups of traction, engineering, traffic, rolling stock, signalling, materials, personnel, RPF, finance, health and safety.{{cite report|url=https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/stat_econ/Year_Book/Org_Chart_1.pdf|title=Organization Chart|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

Zonal management

In 1944, all the railway companies in existence at the time were taken over by the Government.{{cite report|url=http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/financecode/ADMIN_FINANCE/AdminFinanceCh1_Data.htm|title=Evolution of Indian Railways-Historical Background|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}} 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.{{cite report|url=https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/eff_res/Circulars/List_Zones-Divisions.pdf|title=List of zones and divisions|access-date=1 December 2023|publisher=Indian Railways}} 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.

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.{{cite press release|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=189105|title=Cabinet approves South Coast Railway zone|publisher=Government of India|access-date=20 May 2019|archive-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402144738/http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=189105|url-status=live}}

File:Indianrailwayzones-numbered.png

class="sortable wikitable"style="text-align:left;"style="font-size: 85%"

|+ Indian Railway zones

!rowspan=2|{{tooltip|Number|Number corresponding to the map}}

!rowspan=2|Railway zone

!rowspan=2|Code

!rowspan=2|Headquarters{{cite report|url=https://iritm.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1680252282408-PDF%20Year%20Book%202021-22-English.pdf|title=Year book 2021-22|access-date=1 December 2023|publisher=Indian Railways|archive-date=3 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103050732/https://iritm.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1680252282408-PDF%20Year%20Book%202021-22-English.pdf|url-status=dead}}

!rowspan=2|Established{{cite report|url=https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/eff_res/downloads/2021/List%20of%20Zones%20%26%20Divisions.pdf|title=Indian railway zones|access-date=1 December 2023|publisher=Indian Railways}}

!colspan=2|Route length{{efn|as of March 2023}}{{cite report|url=https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/PDF/Railway%20Map%20of%20india_Corrected%20up%20to%2031_03_2023.pdf|title=Route map, 2023|access-date=1 December 2023|publisher=Indian Railways}}

!rowspan=2|Stations

!rowspan=2|Divisions{{cite report|url=https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/eff_res/Circulars/List_Zones-Divisions.pdf|title=List of zones and divisions|access-date=1 December 2023|publisher=Indian Railways}}

km

!miles

style="text-align:center;" | 7

| Southern Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | SR

| Chennai

| style="text-align:center;" | 1951

|{{convert|5093|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 727{{cite report|url=https://sr.indianrailways.gov.in/cris//uploads/files/1659695525713-SR.pdf|title=List of stations, SR|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Chennai, Madurai, Palakkad, Salem, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli

style="text-align:center;" | 8

| Central Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | CR

| Mumbai CSMT

| style="text-align:center;" | 1951

|{{convert|4203.3|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 486{{cite report|url=https://cr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?fontColor=black&backgroundColor=LIGHTSTEELBLUE&lang=0&id=0,6,287,396,593|title=Divisions of CR|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

|Bhusawal, Mumbai CR, Nagpur, Pune, Solapur

style="text-align:center;" | 9

| Western Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | WR

| Mumbai Churchgate

| style="text-align:center;" | 1951

| {{convert|6156.6|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 1046{{cite web|url=https://wr.indianrailways.gov.in/cris//uploads/files/1631706743442-System%20Map%20-%20ENGLISH.pdf|title=System map, WR|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Mumbai WR, Rajkot, Ratlam, Vadodara

style="text-align:center;" | 4

| Eastern Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | ER

| Kolkata

| style="text-align:center;" | 1952

| {{convert|2823.2|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 587{{cite report|url=https://er.indianrailways.gov.in/cris//uploads/files/1624521405374-.4%20Category_wise%20Stations%20ZZZ.pdf|title=Category wise stations, ER|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Asansol, Howrah, Malda, Sealdah

style="text-align:center;" | 1

| Northern Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | NR

| Delhi

| style="text-align:center;" | 1952

| {{convert|7363|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 1013{{cite report|url=https://nr.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1686654402287-Table1_NR%20SYS%20MAP_2023.pdf|title=System map, NR|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Ambala, Delhi, Firozpur, Lucknow, Moradabad, Jammu

style="text-align:center;" | 2

| North Eastern Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | NER

| Gorakhpur

| style="text-align:center;" | 1952

| {{convert|3470.5|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 537{{cite web|url=https://ner.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1541144028517-smap.pdf|title=System map, NER|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Izzatnagar, Lucknow, Varanasi

style="text-align:center;" | 5

| South Eastern Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | SER

| Kolkata

| style="text-align:center;" | 1955

| {{convert|2758.6|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 363{{cite web|url=https://ser.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?fontColor=black&backgroundColor=LIGHTSTEELBLUE&lang=0&id=0,2,406,2246,2247|title=Category of stations, SER|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Adra, Chakradharpur, Kharagpur, Ranchi

style="text-align:center;" | 3

| Northeast Frontier Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | NFR

| Guwahati

| style="text-align:center;" | 1958

| {{convert|4348|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 547{{cite report|url=https://nfr.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1607579974323-cos.pdf|title=Station classification, NFR|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Alipurduar, Katihar, Lumding, Rangiya, Tinsukia

style="text-align:center;" | 6

| South Central Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | SCR

| Secunderabad

| style="text-align:center;" | 1966

| {{convert|6560.5|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 156{{cite web|url=https://scr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?fontColor=black&backgroundColor=LIGHTSTEELBLUE&lang=0&id=0,1,291,358,748,2213|title=Category wise stations, SCR|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Nanded

style="text-align:center;" | 18

| South Coast Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | SCoR

| Visakhapatnam

| style="text-align:center;" | 2019

| {{convert|3062|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

|

| Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Guntakal

style="text-align:center;" | 17

| Konkan Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | KR

| CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai

| style="text-align:center;" | 1984

| {{convert|756.25|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 40{{cite web|url=https://mtp.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?fontColor=black&backgroundColor=LIGHTSTEELBLUE&lang=0&id=0,1,285|title=Kolkata metro map|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

|

style="text-align:center;" | 16

| East Central Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | ECR

| Hajipur

| style="text-align:center;" | 1996

| {{convert|4238|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 340{{cite report|url=https://ecr.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1338377427418-UTS,%20UTS%20cum%20PRS%20&%20PRS%20locations.pdf|title=UTS locations, ECR|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Danapur, Dhanbad, Mughalsarai, Samastipur, Sonpur

style="text-align:center;" | 14

| South East Central Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | SECR

| Bilaspur

| style="text-align:center;" | 1998

| {{convert|2396.6|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 358{{cite web|url=https://secr.indianrailways.gov.in//downloadfile_2.jsp?filename=1686829825066-SECR%20System%20Map-23%20(%20A-1).pdf|title=System map, SECR|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Bilaspur, Nagpur, Raipur

style="text-align:center;" | 11

| North Western Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | NWR

| Jaipur

| style="text-align:center;" | 2002

| {{convert|5705.6|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 578{{cite web|url=https://nwr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1|title=About us, NWR|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Ajmer, Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur

style="text-align:center;" | 15

| East Coast Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | ECoR

| Bhubaneswar

| style="text-align:center;" | 2003

| {{convert|3017.2|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 133{{cite report|url=https://eastcoastrail.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1542885436800-Classification%20of%20stations%20ofcomm.pdf|title=Classification of stations, ECoR|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Khurda Road, Sambalpur, Rayagada

style="text-align:center;" | 13

| North Central Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | NCR

| Prayagraj

| style="text-align:center;" | 2003

| {{convert|3522.6|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 411{{cite report|url=https://ncr.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1657609148892-System_map_2022_A4_Final-13.pdf|title=System map, NCR|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Agra, Jhansi, Prayagraj

style="text-align:center;" | 10

| South Western Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | SWR

| Hubballi

| style="text-align:center;" | 2003

| {{convert|3661.8|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 381{{cite web|url=https://swr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?fontColor=black&backgroundColor=LIGHTSTEELBLUE&lang=0&id=0,1,800,802|title=Category wise stations, SWR|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Bengaluru, Hubballi, Mysuru

style="text-align:center;" | 12

| West Central Railway

| style="text-align:center;" | WCR

| Jabalpur

| style="text-align:center;" | 2003

| {{convert|3060|km|1|disp=table|sortable=on}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 247{{cite web|url=https://wcr.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?fontColor=black&backgroundColor=LIGHTSTEELBLUE&lang=0&id=0,1,304,368,836,848,854|title=Category wise list of stations, WCR|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| Bhopal, Jabalpur, Kota

{{notelist}}

Structure

In every zone, the functional verticals are represented by head of departments (HODs) responsible for the respective functions in the zone.{{cite report|url=https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/secretary_branches/Office_Order_2022/Organization%20Chart%20of%20Zonal%20Railway%20PDF.pdf|title=Organization chart, Zonal railway|publisher=Indian Railways|access-date=1 December 2023}} 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.{{cite book|title=India's railway history : a research handbook|date=3 August 2012|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-9-0042-3003-3|pages=270|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TPB5RTODBJAC|access-date=2 August 2019}}

File:Indian Railways Departments & Roles.png

class="sortable wikitable"style="text-align:left;"style="font-size: 85%"

|+Zonal administration

! Department

! HOD

! Divisional manager

!Function

Stores

| Principal Chief Materials Manager (PCMM)

| Sr. Divisional Material Manager

| Material stores for maintenance of infrastructure

rowspan="2"|Mechanical

| rowspan="2"| Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer (PCME)

| Sr. Divisional Mechanical Engineer (Diesel)

| Maintenance of diesel locomotives

Sr. Divisional Mechanical Engineer (Carriage & Wagon)

| Maintenance of rolling stock

rowspan="3"| Electrical

| rowspan="3"| 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

rowspan="2"| Engineering

| rowspan="2"| Principal Chief Engineer (PCE)

| Sr. Divisional Engineer

| rowspan="2"| 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

{{see also|Indian Railways Management Service|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.{{cite web|title=Railway Board Directorates |url=http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,388|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530064841/http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,388|archive-date=30 May 2012|publisher=Indian Railways}} As of March 2022, Groups A & B constitute 1.5% of the total workforce, while Group C & D account for 98.5%. 80% of Group-A employees are recruited through Indian Railways Management Service (IRMS) with remaining through promotions.{{cite press release|title=Recruitment to Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) to be done through a specially designed examination (IRMS Examination)|url=https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1880524|publisher=Government of India|access-date=1 December 2023}}

The various Group A cadres are as below include:{{cite web|url=https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,1,304,366,530,1525|title=Railway board|access-date=1 December 2023|publisher=Indian Railways}}

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).{{cite report|title=Indian Railways Establishment Manual|url=http://rrcb.gov.in/rrbs.html |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525103317/http://rrcb.gov.in/RRBS.HTML|archive-date=25 May 2012 |publisher=RRCB|access-date=1 December 2023}} Indian Railways operates seven centralized training institutes and 295 training centers.

See also

{{Indian Railways}}

References

{{Reflist}}

organisational structure