Operation of Trains Services

Operation of Trains Services

To prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, Indian Railways discontinued all regular passenger carrying train w.e.f. 23rd March, 2025. Indian Railways, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Government from time to time, resumed passenger train operations w.e.f. 1st May, 2025 by operating Shramik special trains followed by operation of Rajdhani Special services w.e.f. 12th May, 2025 and other special trains w.e.f 1st June, 2025. The number of services have been increased in a phased manner and presently, Indian Railways is operating 1328 Mail / Express Special Trains, 206 Passenger trains and 5350 Suburban Trains, which are in addition to 684 Festival Special also being operated.

Based on the request of the State Governments concerned, Indian Railways, w.e.f 11.11.2025, resumed suburban services, on a limited basis, over Eastern and South Eastern Railway serving the Kolkata area and that over Southern Railway serving Chennai area w.e.f 23.11.2025. 705 Suburban services in Mumbai area, (355 over Central Railway and 350 over Western Railway) were started w.e.f 15.06.2025 for limited class of passengers. However, w.e.f 01.02.2025, all categories of passenger have been permitted to travel in local train services in Mumbai area during the non-peak hours. Indian Railways is keeping a close watch on the prevailing situation and is resuming train operations in a phased manner.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Here’s a comprehensive look at how train services operate, especially within Indian Railways, covering planning, scheduling, crew management, infrastructure control, and the regulatory framework:

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1. 🚆 Overarching Structure: Tracks & Trains

• Rail operations rely on two core systems:
  1. Infrastructure: tracks, stations, signaling, yards, interlocking systems.
  2. Rolling stock: locomotives, passenger coaches, freight wagons

Indian Railways centrally oversees both components, managed by a Railway Board under the Ministry of Railways

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2. 📅 Timetable & Dispatching

• Fixed timetables guide passenger trains, while freight runs may be more dynamic based on demand and rake availability
• Trains are centrally dispatched and controlled via Control Rooms, which manage interlockings and routes via signalling systems
• Technological systems like Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) and sometimes audio radio permits movement authority—similar to air traffic control—especially in lighter traffic areas via track warrants

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3. 👨‍✈️ Crew Management

• A team comprising Loco Pilots and Train Managers (Guards) takes charge of every train. Pilots are classified by route type (freight, passenger, express, Rajdhani) and typically require years of training starting as assistants
• Crew scheduling and rest tracking are handled through the Crew Management System (CMS)—a centralized digital platform used across India for safe and regulated crew assignments

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4. 🔐 Signaling & Safety Systems

• Traditional systems involve fixed-block signaling, but modern methods like Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) (moving blocks) or Positive Train Control (PTC) enable dynamic, real-time positioning and safe spacing between trains
• Indian Railways’ indigenous Kavach system provides automatic train protection to prevent collisions, enforce speed limits, and integrate with track-side signaling infrastructure via RFID/GSM-UHF systems—currently being upgraded to LTE-R for enhanced reliability

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5. 🎛️ Rake & Resource Optimization

• Trains are assigned rakes (sets of coaches) in complex planning workflows. Recent research introduces decoupling rake-link optimization from timetabling to improve scheduling flexibility and resource utilization using graph-modeling techniques

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6. 🔧 Maintenance Procedures

• Routine maintenance occurs in-field or at stabling yards; deeper overhauls happen in loco sheds and workshops based on data-driven scheduling
• Dynamic rail monitoring systems—already proposed and piloted—constantly assess rail health to reduce derailments or infrastructure failures

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7. 📋 Reservation & Passenger Processing

• Indian Railways has recently modernized its booking and charting processes:
  • Reservation charts are now prepared 24 hours in advance (pilot launched on the Prayagraj‑Delhi Humsafar Express), improving clarity for waitlisted passengers and better planning access
  • Emergency Quota (EQ) processes were reformed in July 2025: requests must be submitted at least one day prior to travel, better organizing urgent ticket issuance without operations disruption

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8. 🏛️ Regulatory Changes & Systemic Updates

• Alongside chart-timing reforms, railways revamped Tatkal and EQ booking rules, moving to a more streamlined, transparent system with enhanced digital tracking and data logs for cancellations and authorities

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📊 At-a-Glance: Railway Operations Workflow

Component	Main Responsibility
Infrastructure	Tracks, signaling, interlockings, yards
Rolling Stock	Loco & coaches, rake allocation, maintenance cycles
Crew	Trained loco pilots & guards, scheduled via CMS
Dispatch & Control	Central control rooms, signalling-based movement authority
Safety Systems	CBTC, Kavach, automatic brake enforcement, anti-collision
Reservation System	Chart preparation, Tatkal/EQ rules, passenger ticketing
Maintenance	Predictive & scheduled upkeep—loco, coach, and way-side
Optimization Tools	Software for rake-link, disruptions, network resilience

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✅ Summary

Indian Railways operations are a tightly integrated system combining human expertise, centralized control, and advanced technology—from crew rostering to train protection systems and reservation reforms. Recent modernization efforts around chart timing, emergency quota regulation, and crew management reinforce its shift toward a digitally optimized network.

Would you like to dive deeper into any specific area—such as signaling tech like Kavach, crew training progression, or upcoming scheduling tools?