Monday, September 21, 2009

Fun Facts about India's Railway System

Outside the Delhi Train Station at Night
Navigating my way out of the Delhi Train Station after my Journey

Here are some fun and interesting facts about the Indian Railway System……along with some INCREDIBLE statistics and at the end……..a QUESTION that will form the basis of the contest….the winner will get a prize to be determined by the organizer of the contest…that would be me! Here are the facts:

The Railway System in India is over 150 years old.

The IRS is known to be the largest railway network in Asia.

The IRS is the WORLD’S LARGEST railway system under one management.

The IRS employs approximately 1.7 million people which makes it the second largest commercial or utility employer in the world!

The IRS has more than 7,500 railway stations
Statistics on the Fleet:
7800+ Locomotives
40,000 Coaches
326,000 wagons

First Passenger Train Ran On: 16th April 1853 (between Bombay to Thane)

Toilets on Trains were introduced in: 1891 (1st Class) 1907 (lower classes)

Shortest Station Name: Ib (Orissa)

Longest Station Name: Sri Venkatanarasimharajuvariapeta (Tamil Nadu) TRY AND PRONOUNCE THAT!

Busiest Railway Station: Lucknow (64 trains everyday)

Longest Railway Platform in the World: Kharagpur (2,733 ft in length)Oldest Preserved Locomotive: Fairy Queen (1855), still in working order

IRS Daily Runs: About 14,000 trains

IRS Daily Carries: More than 11 million passengers 1 million tons of freight

Route Kilometers of Track: More than 62,000 kms


The total distance covered by the 14,300 trains on the Indian Railways every day, equals three & half times the distance to moon

And finally........the contest question. I have provided a picture for your reference.
WHAT IS A COOLIE?
The first person to respond to the blog and answer the question correctly receives a prize.Please post your answer in the comments section of the blog.
Have fun.....enjoy and best of luck to all who participate in the contest!

4 comments:

areason2write said...

the person who will carry your luggage?? Am I right? Am I, huh, Am I

areason2write said...

and by the way, if I am right - please don't feel the need to publish my answer until people have had time to ring in - it's the competitive spirit in me - and you did mention a prize 8-)

Sandra said...

coolie is a person who helps us to carry our luggage in railway stations... :)

Lloyd said...

Both "ME" and Ash have answered the question correctly.....so they will both get a prize!

"ME" will be able to get her prize in person....

Ash...I am not sure who "Ash" is????..I know one Ashley from Singapore that works for a certain hotel company.....but I didn't know that she was following my blog.....Ash....if this is you...let me know.....reveal yourself!

Thanks for playing....and reading!