Northern Railway zone

Northern Railway

1-Northern Railway
Dates of operation	April 14, 1952 (1952-04-14)–
Track gauge	Mixed
Headquarters	New Delhi railway station
Website	http://www.nr.indianrailways.gov.in/

The Northern Railways is one of the 17 Railway zones of India and the northernmost zone of the Indian Railways. Its headquarter is New Delhi Baroda House near India Gate.

History

The railway zone was created on 14 April 1952 by merging Jodhpur Railway, Bikaner Railway, Eastern Punjab Railway and three divisions of the East Indian Railway north-west of Mughalsarai (Uttar Pradesh). It includes the first passenger railway line in North India, which opened from Allahabad and Kanpur on 3 March 1859.^[1] The Zonal Headquarters Office of Northern Railways is at Baroda House, New Delhi, and divisional headquarters are located at Ambala (Haryana), Delhi, Firozpur (Punjab), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) and Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh).

The first passenger railway line in North India opened from Allahabad to Kanpur on 3 March 1859. This was followed in 1889, by the Delhi–Ambala–Kalka line. Northern Railways previously consisted of eight divisional zones: Allahabad, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Delhi, Moradabad, Ferozpur, Ambala, and Lucknow, spanning most of North India. With the re-organisation of zones by the Indian Railways, Northern Railway zone came to its present form on 14 April 1952 and it now consists of five divisional zones.

Infrastructure

On 19 February 1986, Northern Railways was the first zone to introduce the computerized passenger reservation system and was the first zone to do so. To facilitate the Unreserved travellers to also plan their journey ahead, Northern Railway introduced the Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) whereby the unreserved rail passenger can purchase an unreserved ticket 3 days in advance from the current booking counters.

The first diesel and electric locomotive simulators in India at the Tughlaqabad and Kanpur locomotive sheds were introduced by Northern Railways. These help upgrading the skills of the working and new drivers, providing them training for high speed train operation. All workshops, Diesel sheds and Air brake freight depts. are ISO 9000 certified. Diesel shed, Tughlaqabad has the distinction of being the first diesel shed to get ISO 14000 certification on Indian Railway.

There are eight workshops operated by Northern Railways

Zonal Railway Training Institute (ZRTI) at Chandausi, Moradabad UP is the oldest (and North India's only) Railway Training Institute, where group C railway employees like Driver, Guard, Ticket Checker, Station Master, Traffic Inspector, Commercial Inspector, JE (signal & Telecom) etc. are trained for initial, promotional and refresher courses. ZRTI is an ISO 9001 Institute. Applicants pass All India Railway Examinations to get admission into the institute. ZRTI is headed by a senior Civil Services Officer.^[3]

Jurisdiction

Northern Railways is one of nine old zones of Indian Railways and also the biggest in terms of network having 6807 kilometre route.^[4] It covers the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh and the Union territories of Delhi and Chandigarh.

Background

Northern Railways implemented the Route Relay Interlocked system (RRI) at New Delhi Railway Station which is a modern signaling system for enhancing efficiency and safety in the operations. This Route Relay Interlocked system at New Delhi is one of the world's largest route relay interlocking system certified by the Guinness Book of Records. Northern Railway is equipped with 40 Route Relay Interlocking systems including the system at Delhi Main.

Delhi Suburban Railway services is a commuter rail service operated by Northern Railway. It covers the city state of Delhi, along with the adjoining districts of Faridabad, Ghaziabad and other adjoining places in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. These services are mostly run using EMU and MEMU rakes. In 2009 Ladies Special trains were introduced between New Delhi and Palwal. Two more ladies special trains will be connecting from the city to Ghaziabad and Panipat.

Starting with a part of Firozpur division of the Northern Railway zone, the line has been under construction since 1983; the Jammu Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Railway Link (JUSBRL) of the Kashmir Railway is under construction in perhaps the most difficult terrain on the Indian subcontinent. The Northern Railway reached another landmark achievement by extending rail services in the Kashmir Valley on 28 October 2009 by commencing rail services between Anantnag and Qazigund of the Qazigund-Baramula rail project.^[5] Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel, the 10.96 km long railway tunnel, passes through the Pir Panjal Range of middle Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir. It is a part of its Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla rail link project, opened in October 2011, India's longest and Asia's second longest railway tunnel and reduced the distance between Quazigund and Banihal to only 11 km .^[6]

See also

• New Delhi Railway Station
• Delhi Railway Junction
• Sarai Rohilla Railway Station

References

External links

• Northern Railway, Official website
• Indian Railway, Official website

Railways in Northern India
National network/ trunk lines	Howrah–Delhi main line New Delhi–Chennai main line New Delhi–Mumbai main line Howrah–Gaya–Delhi line Delhi–Jaipur line Jaipur–Ahmedabad line
Branch lines/ sections	Agra–Bhopal section Ambala–Attari line Amritsar–Pathankot line Bathinda–Rewari line Bilaspur–Mandi–Leh railway Chandigarh–Sahnewal line Delhi–Fazilka line Delhi–Kalka line Delhi–Meerut–Saharanpur line Delhi–Moradabad line Delhi–Shamli–Saharanpur line Jalandhar–Firozpur line Jalandhar–Jammu line Jammu–Poonch railway line Jodhpur–Bathinda line Kanpur–Delhi section Kashmir Railway Lucknow–Moradabad line Ludhiana–Fazilka line Ludhiana–Jakhal line Marwar Junction–Munabao line Moradabad–Ambala line Mughalsarai–Kanpur section Rewari–Rohtak line Srinagar-Kargil-Leh railway Varanasi–Lucknow main line Varanasi–Rae Bareli–Lucknow line
Urban and suburban rail transport	Delhi Suburban Railway Blue Line (Delhi Metro) Green Line (Delhi Metro) Red Line (Delhi Metro) Violet Line (Delhi Metro) Yellow Line (Delhi Metro) Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon Lucknow–Kanpur Suburban Railway Barabanki–Lucknow Suburban Railway Delhi Panipat RRTS Delhi Meerut RRTS Delhi Alwar RRTS
Narrow-gauge railways	Kalka–Shimla Railway Kangra Valley Railway
Abandoned lines	Jammu–Sialkot Line
Monorails	Patiala State Monorail Trainways (abandoned)
Named trains	Ajmer–Hyderabad Meenakshi Express Ajmer Jammu Express Dayodaya Ajmer–Jabalpur Superfast Express Akal Takht Express Amritsar Mail Ananya Express Andaman Express Andhra Pradesh Express Anand Vihar Muzaffarpur Garib Rath Express Assam Mail Bagh Express Lucknow Bhopal Garibrath Express Bhopal–Jaipur Express Bhopal–Jodhpur Passenger Bhopal–Lucknow Express Bhopal–Lucknow–Pratapgarh Express Brahmaputra Mail Chambal Express Chennai Hazrat Nizamuddin Duronto Express Chhattisgarh Express Chitrakoot Express Damoh–Kota Passenger Dayodaya Express Doon Express Durgavati Express Faizabad Delhi Express Faizabad Superfast Express Ganga Kaveri Express Goa Express Godaan Express Golden Temple Mail Gondwana Express Grand Trunk Express Pune–Manduadih Gyan Ganga Express Himalayan Queen Himsa Express Himsagar Express Hirakud Express Howrah – New Delhi Duronto Express Howrah New Delhi Yuva Express Indore Express Indore–Chandigarh Express Indore–Dehradun Express Indore–Hazrat Nizamuddin Express Indore–Patna Express Indore – Rajendra Nagar Via. Faizabad Express Indore–Ajmer Express Indore–Ajmer Link Express Indore–Amritsar Express Indore–Jaipur Express Indore–Jaipur Express via Ajmer Indore–Kota Intercity Express Indore–Udaipur City Express Jabalpur–Jammu Tawi Express Jabalpur–New Delhi Express Jaipur Superfast Express Jammu Tawi – Indore Express Jhelum Express Kaifiyat Express Kalinga Utkal Express Kalka Mail Kanpur Allahabad Intercity Kanpur Varanasi InterCity Kashi Vishwanath Express Kerala Express Kongu Express Kushinagar Express Lashkar Express Lucknow Mail Magadh Express Mahabodhi express Mahakoshal Express Mahanagari Express Mahananda Express Malwa Express Mandore Express Mangala Lakshadweep Express Secunderabad Express Marusagar Express Matsyaganda Express Mewar Express Mithila Express Muzaffarpur Anand Vihar Garib Rath Express Navyug Express Neelachal Express Kalka New Delhi Shatabdi Express New Jalpaiguri - New Delhi SF Express North East Express Patalkot Express Patna–Kota Express Poorva Express Pratham Swatrantata Sangrm Express Prayagraj Express Punjab Mail Purushottam Express Pushpak Express Rajendra Nagar Patna – Indore Express Rajendranagar Express Ranthambore Express Raptisagar Express Sabarmati Express Sachkhand Express Saket Express Samata Express Samjhauta Express Sampoorna Kranti Express Sanghamithra Express Sapt Kranti Express Sealdah Rajdhani Express Sealdah – New Delhi Duronto Express Shaan-e-Bhopal Express Shalimar Express Shipra Express Shiv Ganga Express Shram Shakti Express Shramjeevi Express Taj Express Tamil Nadu Express Thar Express Thirukural Express Tirhut Express Udhna Varanasi Express Ujjaini Express Utsarg Express Uttar Sampark Kranti Express Vaishali Express Vikramshila Express West Bengal Sampark Kranti Express
Manufacturing units and workshops	Diesel Locomotive Works Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala Rail Coach Factory, Raebareli
Railway companies	Northern Railway North Eastern Railway North Central Railway North Western Railway East Indian Railway Company Rajputana–Malwa Railway Tirhut Railway Oudh and Tirhut Railway Indian Branch Railway Company Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway Cawnpore–Burhwal Railway Cawnpore–Barabanki Railway Lucknow–Bareilly Railway Bengal and North Western Railway Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway Mashrak-Thawe Extension Railway Lucknow–Sitapur–Seramow Provincial State Railway Bareilly–Pilibheet Provincial State Railway Segowlie-Raxaul Railway Delhi Metro Rail Corporation National Capital Region Transport Corporation
See also	Indian Railways Bholu (mascot) 1974 railway strike in India
Railways in India portal