Fact sheet on Indian Railways, world's fourth largest network

26 Feb 2013, 08:49 PM IST

Operates the fourth largest railroad network in the world over 63,974 route-km
Figures among the world's five largest networks along with the US, Russia, China and Canada
Enters select club of networks that ferry a cargo of over 1 billion tonnes annually
Runs as many as 19,000 trains every day
Some 12,000 trains are for passengers and 7,000 for freight
The network has 7,083 stations
Station at Kharagpur has longest platform in world of 2,733 feet
Transports 2.65 million tonnes of freight each day
Ferries 23 million passengers every day, 7.2 billion annually
Has 1.4 million employees on its rolls
Seventh largest employer in the world, according to Economist magazine
Ranks as largest employer after the US defence department, the Chinese army, Wal-Mart, China National Petroleum, State Grid of China and British health services
Has an annual revenue base of Rs 1,06,000 crore ($19 billion)
Operations span nearly 170 years
First train operated from Mumbai to Thane on April 16, 1843.