The Indian Railways
Essay # 1
The railways of India are great engineering works. The constructors were confronted with enormous physical difficulties. Broad rivers had to be spanned and the mighty mountain wall of the Ghats had to be surmounted by the railroad before Mumbai could be brought into railway communication with Gujarat, Kolkata, and Chennai. Still greater are the natural obstacles that have been overcome in the construction of the military railways on the north-western frontier, for the protection of the country against foreign aggression.
No doubt it is a good policy to defend India by building railways, for strategic purposes. It is less expensive to add to our railway system than to increase the number of the army. A country with good railway communication has a great advantage from a military point of view. When a threatened frontier has no railways, all the practicable passes have to be defended by strong forces, as it cannot be known beforehand where the enemy will deliver his attack. But if the defenders have the command of railway leading to those passes, it is enough to assemble a strong army at some central point, from which troops can be rapidly conveyed in trains to the part of the frontier towards which the enemy is reported to be directing his march. Thus by the help of railways, an army of fifty thousand men may do the work that would otherwise require twice or thrice as large an army,
Also, the railways built for military purposes are not thereby debarred from being useful in times of peace, so that, even if there should be no war, the money spent upon them is far from being wasted. The railways, which would be a defense in war, are trade routes in peace, and so perform their more natural function.
How much Indian commerce has been increased by the introduction of railways can be seen in a numerical form by comparing the value of the export from India now with her foreign trade thirty years ago. The railways, by bringing the interior of India into easy communication with the great seaports and through them with foreign nations, have marvellously developed the productive industries of the country. A continual procession of heavily-laden trains carries into Mumbai and the other major ports like Kolkata, Cochin, Kandla, Chennai and Vishakhapatnam, from the interior of India, com, and cotton, that could never have found a market if the only means of communication had been by carts and riverboats. Thus it is mainly due to the power of the locomotive that Punjab and the adjoining regions have become great corn-producing districts that supply the deficiencies of European harvests.
Nor is material prosperity the only important effect produced Railways have a powerful influence in overcoming the barriers between different sections of the community and between man and man. Members of the different castes going on pilgrimage to Benares or Nasik, unless they are rich enough to afford reserved compartments, must either give up their pious intention or consent to come into close contact with one another in crowded railway carriages. Thus railways tend to do away with the exclusiveness of caste and promote the doctrine of the equality of mankind.
They also do much to educate the people of India by enabling them cheaply and with comfort to leave their native villages and visit the great cities that are the headquarters of civilization and progress. (See also the end of the preceding essay on railways and telegraphs.
The Indian Railways
Essay # 2
Indian Railways is the biggest Government institution in India which gives more than 17 Latch people employment. Indian Railways is the biggest railway system in Asia and the second biggest railway system in the world. In India, the first …rain was run between Mumbai and Thane. Lord Dalhousie was the Governor-General of India at that time the train was running by coal Railway Engine. The Britishers started the railway system to exploit the resources, of India and carry the raw material from different parts of India to the ports for export the material to England and when the manufactured goods came to the ports from England then disbursed these goods all over the country within a very short time.
During the freedom struggle, the freedom fighters opposed the extension of the railway network in the country because the railway system used by the Britishers for fulfilling and their interests were in the exploitation of India their own interests. After independence, there is a new chapter started in the development of the Railway Government of India established its separate Ministry of Railways. The total responsibility of Railways is on the Ministry of Railways.
The State Government has no authority to interfere in Railway Network. From the time of independence, the developing process of Railways is very rapidly moving now the old coal engines are almost finished and Diesel and electric engines are using and the Government is determinate to replace all diesel engines with electric engines. The Electric Engines cause no pollution and its performance is better than Diesel Engine. Now there are eleven zones in Railways. Now the total length of Indian Railways is about 65,000 kilometers long railway track of which almost 15,000 kilometers are electric lines.
About 12,000 trains go from one place to another every day Railway is like a lifeline to the people of India. The importance of Railway is known by the fact that every year just before the common budget of the Government of India a separate Railway budget is present in the parliament by the Railway Minister. The railway is regularly working for giving the good facilities of their Passengers. The government of India established a separate Paramilitary Force R.P.F. (Railway Protection Force). The main work of R.P.F. is to protect the property and passengers of the Railway.
The jawans of R.P.E are always traveled with express trains and mails. Railway has its different telephone department which is totally different from the Department of Telecom, Government of India. Railway has its separate audit department which audits all accounts of Indian Railways. This audit department of Railways is totally different from CAG (Controller and Auditor General of India). Railway provides Residence and Medical Aid to their employees. We easily see a residential colony and a dispensary near every Railway Station. There are almost 7,500 small and big Railway Stations in India. The railway is also helping the Indian people in their trade almost 30-40% of goods are carried by Railway in different parts of the country.
The railway also plays an important role during any national calamity and any accidents. Railway provides the food, medicines, doctors and other help in a very short time and very rapidly take the affected people towards the secure places at the time of any natural calamity. We saw that in floods, earthquakes, ocean storm the Railway provide full support to the people as much help as possible. The Railway has the facility for all segments of society. For the people of the economically weaker segment, there is a general class, above it, there is a second class in which people got the sleeping facility by reservation. Above them, there is first class. It is very costly because the seats of first-class are very big and comfortable and you can close your chamber and be free from any disturbance in the compartment.
The topmost facility provides by Indian Railways in Air Condition Compartments. In this compartment, the Railway provides a sleeping facility with a full bed to the passengers. The Shatabdi Express and Rajdhani Express are running on very big routes, which passengers travel in those trains the Railway provides breakfast, lunch, and dinner to the passengers. For the last five years, Indian Railways have run a separate luxury train, “Palace on Wheels” in Rajasthan with the support of the Ministry of Tourism Government of Rajasthan. This train has a facility equal to a five-star hotel by this train we can enjoy all places of historical and tourism importance of Rajasthan. So the facility is available for the people of every class. The railway is an essential part of the life of every Indian.
