The total number of railway zones is 18, newly is South Coast Railway (HQ Visakhapatnam) and the largest Railway Zone is North Zone.
| Indian Railways Zone, Headquarters & Divisions |
| Sr No | Indian Railway Zone | Headquarters | Divisions |
| 1. | Northern Railway (Largest) | Baroda House, New Delhi | 1) Delhi-I 2) Delhi-II 3) Ambala 4) Moradabad 5) Lucknow 6) Firozpur |
| 2. | North Eastern Railway | Gorakhpur | 1) Izzatnagar 2) Lucknow 3) Varanasi 4) DLW |
| 3. | Northeast Frontier Railway (Smallest) | Maligaon, Guwahati | 1) Katihar 2) Alipurduar 3) Rangiya 4) Lumding 5) Tinsukhia |
| 4. | Eastern Railway | Kolkata | 1) Howrah-I 2) Howrah-II 3) Sealdah 4) Malda 5) Asansol 6) Chitaranjan 7) Kolkata Metro |
| 5. | South Eastern Railway | Garden Reach, Kolkata | 1) Kharagpur 2) Adra 3) Chakradharpur 4) Ranchi 5) Shalimar |
| 6. | South Central Railway | Secunderabad | 1) Secunderabad 2) Hyderabad 3) Guntakal 4) Vijaywada 5) Nanded |
| 7. | Southern Railway | Chennai | 1) Chennai 2) Madurai 3) Palghat 4) Trichy 5) Trivendrum |
| 8. | Central Railway | Mumbai | 1) Mumbai 2) Nagpur 3) Bhusawal 4) Pune 5) Sholapur |
| 9. | Western Railway | Churchgate, Mumbai | 1) BCT 2) Vadodara 3) Ahemdabad 4) Ratlam 5) Rajkot 6) Bhavnagar |
| 10. | South Western Railway | Hubli | 1) Bangalore 2) Mysore 3) Hubli 4) RWF/YNK |
| 11. | North Western Railway | Jaipur | 1) Jaipur 2) Jodhpur 3) Bikaner 4) Ajmer |
| 12. | West Central Railway | Jabalpur | 1) Jabalpur 2) Bhopal 3) Kota |
| 13. | North Central Railway | Allahabad | 1) Allahabad 2) Jhansi 3) Agra |
| 14. | South East Central Railway | Bilaspur | 1) Bilaspur 2) Nagpur 3) Raipur |
| 15. | East Coast Railway | Bhubaneshwar | 1) Khurda Road 2) Waltair 3) Sambhalpur |
| 16. | East Central Railway | Hajipur | 1) Danapur 2) Mugalsarai 3) Dhanbad 4) Sonpur 5) Samastipur |
| 17. | Kolkata Metro | Kolkata | |
| 18 | South Coast Railway | Visakhapatnam | 1) Waltair (Visakhapatnam) 2) Vijayawada 3) Guntakal 3) Guntur |
The first train in India was started by Lord Dalhousie on April 16, 1853 from Bombay to thane (34 Kms)
It is the largest Railway Network in Asia and the second-largest in the world.
The slogan of Indian Railway: Lifeline of the Nation
Indian Railways has a mascot – Bholu, the Guard Elephant.
The northernmost railway station is Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir.
Westernmost is Naliya near Bhuj in Gujarat.
The southernmost railway station is Kanyakumari,
Eastmost of India is Ledo on branch line from Tinsukia.
The longest Tunnel is Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel 11.215 km.
Ahmedabad Mumbai Central Double Decker Express is India’s first double Decker train.
Indian Railways launched an awareness campaign train on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2007, called the Red Ribbon Express.
Longest rail route in India:- From Dibrugarh (Assam) To Kanyakumari (Vivek express Train) 4273 Km.
The Fairy Queen between New Delhi and Alwar in Rajasthan is the oldest functioning steam engine in the world.
First monorail operate in India – From Sarhind to Alampur and Bhawani mandi to Patiala.
The biggest Electrical loco shade is situated at Mughal Sarai (Uttar Pradesh).
Shatabdi Express began for the first time between two stations Between New Delhi to Jhansi On 10, July 1988.
First Rajdhani Express ran between two stations New Delhi–Howrah on 1st March 1969.
The world’s longest railway platform is in India at Gorakhpur.
The train that runs between India and Pakistan is Samjhauta Express.
Train running between India and Bangladesh is Maitree Express.
The highest railway station in India is Ghum railway station (West Bengal).
The Longest Railway bridge in India is Vembanad Rail Bridge (Vallarpadam Bridge) 4.62km (kerala).
The fastest train in India: Gatiman express which run between Delhi to Agra (160km/h).
New Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi Express is the second fastest train in India maximum speed of 150km/h
Slowest train in India: Metupalayam Ooty Nilgiri Passenger (10kmph).
Shortest run by train: Nagpur and Ajni stations are situated just 3km from each other.
The First Electric coach Train ran on the 3rd February 1925 between Bombay VT and Kurla stations.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
IR has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
- The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai and
- The mountain railways of India.
The latter are three rail lines in different parts of India:
- The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a 610 mm (2 ft) narrow-gauge railway in the Lesser Himalayas of West Bengal;
- The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge rack railway in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu and
- The Kalka-Shimla Railway, is a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge railway in the Siwalik Hills of Himachal Pradesh.
The eight manufacturing plants of the Indian Railways, called Production Units, are managed directly by the ministry. The Production Units are
| Sr No | Production units | Location |
| 1. | Chittaranjan Locomotive Works | Chittaranjan (West Bangal) |
| 2. | Diesel Locomotive Works | Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) |
| 3. | Diesel Loco Modernisation Works | Patiala (Panjab) |
| 4. | Rail Coach Factory | Kapurthala (Panjab) |
| 5. | Integral Coach Factory | Chennai (Tamilnadu) |
| 6. | Rail Wheel Factory | Bangalore (Karnataka) |
| 7. | Rail Wheel Plant | Bela in Chhapra (Bihar) |
| 8. | Modern Coach Factory | Raebareli (Uttar Pradesh) |
Other independent units of Indian Railways are:
| 1. | Central Organisation For Railway Electrification | Allahabad |
| 2. | Central Organisation For Modernisation of Workshops | New Delhi |