rail transport in India

Rail transport is commonly used mode of long-distance Transport in India. Almost all rail operations in India are handled by Indian Railways, a state-owned organization of the Ministry of Railways. The rail network traverses the length and breadth of the country, covering in 2011 a total length of . It is the largest railway network in the world, transporting 7.651 billion passengers and over 921 million tonnes of freight annually, as of 2011. Its operations cover twenty eight states and three union territories and also provides limited service to Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Both passenger and freight traffic has seen steady growth, and as per the 2009 Railway budget presented by the Railway Minister, the Indian Railways carried over 7 billion passengers in 2009.