Interesting facts about Indian Railways, from the first train to Vande Bharat
The first train of 1853, the longest route, the highest station, the longest platform, UNESCO's mountain railways and Vande Bharat — Indian Railways in facts.
Rohit Tandon · 10 October 2026 · 4 min read
There is hardly a family in India without a train journey somewhere in its memories. Indian Railways is not just a means of transport but the lifeline that joins the country — crores of passengers and lakhs of tonnes of goods move on it every day. Here are interesting facts about Indian Railways, from the first train to today's Vande Bharat.
The first train: 16 April 1853
India's first passenger train left Bori Bunder in Bombay for Thane at 3:35 pm on 16 April 1853. The journey of about 34 kilometres had 14 coaches and around 400 passengers. Three engines pulled the train, named Sahib, Sultan and Sindh. A 21-gun salute was fired that day, and thousands of people gathered to watch.
Indian Railways in numbers
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| Route length | More than 68,000 kilometres — among the largest rail networks in the world |
| Stations | More than 7,000 |
| Employees | About 12 lakh (1.2 million) — among the country's largest employers |
| Longest route | Vivek Express, Dibrugarh–Kanyakumari (more than 4,000 km) |
| Highest station | Ghum, Darjeeling (about 2,258 metres) |
| Longest platform | Shri Siddharoodha Swamiji Hubballi, Karnataka (about 1,507 metres) |
Did you know? The steam engine "Fairy Queen", built in 1855, can still run. Guinness World Records recognised it as the oldest steam locomotive in regular service in the world.
Heritage railways on UNESCO's list
Three of India's hill railways together form the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Mountain Railways of India" — the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (listed in 1999), the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (2005) and the Kalka–Shimla Railway (2008). People fondly call Darjeeling's little train the "toy train". Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus has also been a World Heritage Site since 2004 — the very place from which the first train left in 1853.
Feats of engineering
- The Chenab bridge: the rail bridge over the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir stands about 359 metres above the river bed — the highest railway arch bridge in the world. Through trains to the Kashmir valley on the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla line began in June 2025.
- The Pamban bridge: the new Pamban bridge that links Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu is India's first "vertical lift" sea rail bridge; its middle section rises to let ships pass.
- The Konkan Railway: completed in 1998, this line through the hills of the Western Ghats has 91 tunnels and about 2,000 bridges.
Read more about India's famous bridges in India's first cable-stayed bridge.
A few more unusual facts
- Indian Railways runs more than 13,000 passenger trains every day.
- The "Lifeline Express", started in 1991, is regarded as the world's first hospital train; it gives free operations and treatment in remote areas.
- The "Palace on Wheels", started in 1982, was India's first luxury tourist train, offering a royal tour of Rajasthan.
- The National Rail Museum in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, has been open since 1977; old engines and royal saloons can be seen there.
A new generation of trains
The first Vande Bharat Express began on the New Delhi–Varanasi route on 15 February 2019. These trains are made in India, at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, and have no separate engine — motors under the coaches drive the train. The railways have electrified most of the network, and work is going on on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad high-speed rail (bullet train) project.
Key points
- India's first passenger train ran from Bori Bunder to Thane on 16 April 1853.
- The journey of about 34 kilometres had 14 coaches and around 400 passengers.
- The engines that pulled it were named Sahib, Sultan and Sindh.
- Indian Railways has a route length of more than 68,000 km and more than 7,000 stations.
- Vande Bharat is the new generation of fast trains on Indian Railways.
Frequently asked questions
When and where did India's first train run?
On 16 April 1853, from Bombay (Bori Bunder) to Thane, about 34 kilometres.
Which is the longest rail route in India?
The Vivek Express route from Dibrugarh (Assam) to Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu), more than 4,000 kilometres long.
Read more: 10 interesting facts about India · Interesting facts · Today's quiz.
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