CENTRAL RAILWAY AT A GLANCE - Introduction
1. The System
The Great Indian Peninsula Railway, which later formed the nucleus of the present day Central Railway, came into existence on April 16, 1853, when the first train on the Indian Sub-continent steamed off from Mumbai to Thane, a modest stretch of only 33 kms. Central Railway has since grown manifold.
After 1st April 2003, Central Railway has been trifurcated. Bhopal and Jabalpur divisions have been transferred to West Central Railway and Jhansi division has been transferred to North Central Railway. Pune-Miraj-Kolhapur section of South Central Railway has joined Central Railway and forms part of Pune division of Central Railway.
2. Overview Route
|
I | States Served |
| Maharashtra Madhya Pradesh Karnataka |
|
| II | DIVISIONS |
| Mumbai Bhusaval Nagpur Solapur Pune |
|
3.Passanger-operation
Non-suburban
Central Railway runs Passenger (carrying) Trains (non-suburban) including Maximum Mail/Express trains, connecting North-east and South-east directions and far off destinations like Jammu-Tawi, Guwahati, Kanyakumari, Howrah, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Gorakhpur and Allahabad.
Suburban
Central Railway operates one of the largest suburban network in the world. It is often called the lifeline of Mumbai Metropolis.
The Mumbai Suburban System of Central Railway extends from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to Kalyan (54 Kms), where it bifurcates into 2 directions, one to Kasara (121 Kms) and the other to Khopoli (114 Kms).
The Harbour Line corridor of the Central Railway extends from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to Vadala, where it bifurcates into two directions ? one joining the Western Railway at Mahim (12.47 kms) and the other going to Kurla and beyond to New Mumbai, terminating at Panvel (49 Kms). The Harbour branch line of the Central Railway which joins the Western Railway at Mahim runs upto Goregaon.
The Thane-Turbhe-Vashi, double line section (18.6 kms) was commissioned on 9th November, 2004. On 9th January, 2009, the line between Turbhe and Nerul was inaugurated.
Belapur/Nerul - Kharkopar section was commisioned on 11.11.2018.
4. Freight Operation
The major streams of traffic dealt with by Central Railway are as below:
Coal is loaded from Nagpur division by Western Coalfields Ltd. (Pench and Chanda valley) for Thermal power houses of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and some captive power plants of private companies, mainly cement companies.
Imported Coal is loaded from PNP Maritime (PPDPSiding) to Thermal Power Houses of Maharashtra (Nasik, Bhusawal, and Parli)
Iron & Steel loading is done from JSW (Dolvi and Vasind in Mumbai Division), Kalmeshwar& Wardha (NGP Division)
Cement is loaded from cement plants on Solapur division (Wadi, Hotgi), Nagpur division (Ghugus & Chandrapur), Bhusawal division (Bhadli) for destinations on Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Automobile traffic is loaded from Kalamboli Mumbai division, Nashik & Devlali (Bhusaval division), Chinchwad, Loni, Shrigonda and Vilad (Pune division), Ajni (Nagpur division).
Petroleum products are loaded from Trombay, Jasai & Uran (Mumbai Division), Panewadi (Bhusawal Division), Loni (Pune Division), Pakni (Solapur division) for destinations in Uttar Pradesh, MadhyaPradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Iron-Ore is loaded from Ballarshah (Nagpur Division) for Karnataka, Eastern states and JSWD, Mumbai Division
Fertilisers are loaded by Rashtriya Chemical Fertilisers Ltd. from Trombay and Thal - Vaishet on Mumbai division and Deepak Fertilizers Ltd from Kalamboli area. The destinations for this traffic are in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, MadhyaPradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa.
Sugar is loaded from Pune & Solapur divisions for exports, as well as, for Chhattisgarh, Eastern U.P., Bihar, West Bengal and North-Eastern states. Sugar loading is done from some stations on Bhusawal divisions also.
Container traffic is loaded from Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT), Turbhe container depot (CRTK) and Kalamboli area on Mumbai division for Inland Container Depots (ICD). Containers are also loaded from Borkhedi and Khapri depots of Nagpur division for Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and other container depots over the country.
Onion traffic is loaded from Nasik and Jalgaon districts in Bhusawal division for North-Eastern states, Eastern U.P. and Bihar / Jharkhand.
ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMERCIAL DEPARTMENT – HQ OFFICE
The Commercial Department is responsible for the marketing & sale of the transportation provided by a railway, for creating and developing traffic, for securing and maintaining friendly relations with the travelling and trading public and for cultivating good public relations. The fixing of rates, fares and other charges and the correct collection, accountal and remittance of traffic receipts are the main functions.
The important matters dealt with in the Commercial Department are;
·Rates and fares
·Claims for refund and for compensation
·Prevention of Claims
·Marketing & Sales
·Passenger Amenities
·Inter-model co-ordination
·Research & Development
·Catering & Vending
·Ticket Checking
·Commercial Statistics
·Reserved and Unreserved Ticketing System
·Commercial Advertising and publicity.
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