need and importance of railway transport in india
All main-line rail operations in India are handled by Indian Railways (IR), a state-owned organization of the Ministry of Railways. As of 31 March 2016 the rail network traverses the length and breadth of the country comprising 119,630 km (74,330 mi) of track over a route of 66,687 km (41,437 mi) and 7,216 stations. It is the fourth-largest railway network in the world (after those of the United States, Russia and China). It is one of the busiest networks in the world, transporting 8.107 billion passengers and over 1.108 billion tonnes of freight annually, as of 2016. Indian Railways is the world's largest commercial or utility employer, with more than 1.4 million employees. Indian Railways' rolling stock includes over 200,000 (freight) wagons, 50,000 coaches and 8,000 locomotives.