Unmatched Western Railway Zone
The Western Zone came into existence after the merger of the Bombay, Baroda and Central Indian Railway with Saurashtra, Rajputana and Jaipur State Railways on November 5, 1951. With Broad Gauge track of around 4100km, Meter Gauge track of around 1400km and Narrow Gauge track of 600km, the Western Zone covers a total route of around 6100km.
The Western Zone covers the whole of Gujarat, and a few areas of Rajasthan and MP. It consists of six divisions viz. Mumbai, Ratlam, Bhavnagar, Vadodara, Rajkot and Ahmadabad. The Western Coast has a number of ports supported by the Western Railways such as Bhavnagar, Mundra, Rozi, Bedi, and Kandla, which play a vital role in the development of Indian economy.
Developments
On an average, the Western Zone serves three million passengers every day. Around 750 trains keep running on its tracks round the clock, which include both mail and passenger trains. Around 120 stations in the Western Zone have fully computerized railway reservation system, 93 railways stations have unreserved ticketing and around 260 stations have computerized unreserved ticketing. It has implemented the Train Management System till Virar providing real time information of the movement of the trains to the travelers. The Western Zone has introduced 15 car trains.
The tourist destinations falling under the Western Zone include Rarnetkar in Rajkot division, Churchgate and Borivali in Bombay or Mumbai Central, Mandu, Chittorgarh, Ujjain and Indore in Ratlam division, Somnath, Junagarh in Bhavnagar, Ahmadabad, Dakor, Sankheda and Pavagarh in Vadodara division.
Western Railways has become a very important part of Indian Economy. The steps taken towards the development of the Zone have yielded very positive results. It is the first railway zone to start an exclusive train for ladies between Churchgate and Virar. It has the pride of running three Rajdhani trains from Mumbai and one from Ahmadabad, through which it connects the western zone to the rest of the country.
Last Updated on 12/18/2012
