Railway Zones
Indian Railways · रेलवे ज़ोन
📋Quick Overview
Indian Railways is divided into 18 zones for administrative efficiency. The first zone was Southern Railway (1951). The latest zones were created in 2002–03. Each zone is headed by a General Manager and is further divided into divisions.
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Total Railway Zones: 18 | First Zone: Southern Railway (1951) | Largest Zone by route km: Northern Railway
📖All 18 Railway Zones with Headquarters
| # | Zone Name | Abbreviation | HQ | Established |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central Railway | CR | Mumbai (CST) | 1951 |
| 2 | Eastern Railway | ER | Kolkata | 1952 |
| 3 | Northern Railway | NR | New Delhi | 1952 |
| 4 | North Eastern Railway | NER | Gorakhpur | 1952 |
| 5 | Northeast Frontier Railway | NFR | Maligaon (Guwahati) | 1958 |
| 6 | Southern Railway | SR | Chennai | 1951 |
| 7 | South Central Railway | SCR | Secunderabad | 1966 |
| 8 | South Eastern Railway | SER | Kolkata | 1955 |
| 9 | Western Railway | WR | Mumbai (Churchgate) | 1951 |
| 10 | South Western Railway | SWR | Hubli | 2003 |
| 11 | North Western Railway | NWR | Jaipur | 2002 |
| 12 | West Central Railway | WCR | Jabalpur | 2003 |
| 13 | North Central Railway | NCR | Prayagraj | 2003 |
| 14 | South East Central Railway | SECR | Bilaspur | 2003 |
| 15 | East Central Railway | ECR | Hajipur | 2002 |
| 16 | East Coast Railway | ECoR | Bhubaneswar | 2003 |
| 17 | Konkan Railway | KR | Navi Mumbai | 1998 |
| 18 | Metro Railway | MR | Kolkata | 1984 |
📝Key Facts about Zones
- •First 6 zones were created in 1951-52: SR, CR, WR, NR, ER, NER
- •7 new zones were added in 2002-03 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee govt
- •Kolkata has HQ of 3 zones: ER, SER, Metro Railway
- •Mumbai has HQ of 3 zones: CR (CST), WR (Churchgate), KR (Navi Mumbai)
- •Konkan Railway is a corporation, not a regular zone — managed by KRCL
- •Northern Railway (NR) has the largest route kilometers
- •Metro Railway Kolkata was India's first underground metro (1984)