INDIAN RAILWAYS

 

Indian Railway, 

The world's largest railway is a means of traveling for almost all people today, so we can travel very conveniently.

By the way, I was associated with the Indian Railways since childhood, my grandfather in the railway, my father in the railway, and now my husband in the railway.

Feels like the railway is now a part of my life

And because of this Indian Railways, I got a chance to live in Kerala today.

History

In 1844, the Governor-General of India Lord Hardinge allowed private entrepreneurs to set up a rail system in India. 

The history of Indian Railways dates back to over 160 years ago. On 16th April 1853, the first passenger train ran between Bori Bunder (Bombay) and Thane, a distance of 34 km.

 It was operated by three locomotives, named Sahib, Sultan, and Sindh, and had thirteen carriages.

Lord Dalhousie is known as the Father of Indian Railways.

It has been divided into zones that are further divided into divisions. Each division has its own divisional headquarter. As of now, there are 18 railway zones and 70 divisions in India. The head of each division is the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) who reports to the General Manager (GM) of the railway zone.

The list of railway zones in India is as follows:

1. Central Railway
2. East Central Railway
3. East Coast Railway
4. Eastern Railway
5. Konkan Railway
6. North Central Railway
7. North Eastern Railway    
8. North Western Railway
9. Northeast Frontier Railway
10. Northern Railway
11. South Central Railway
12. South East Central Railway
13. South Eastern Railway
14. South Western Railway
15. Southern Railway
16. West Central Railway
17. Western Railway
18. Southern Coast Railway

Let's Talks About Southern Railway

It is one of the 18 railway zones in India that is abbreviated as SR. Its headquarters is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It has six divisions; Madurai, Chennai, Salem, Tiruchirappalli, Palakkad, and Thiruvananthapuram.

This zone was established on 14 April 1951 by combining railways of three states; Mysore State Railway, South Indian Railway Company, and the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway. It offers services in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and in a few regions of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Over 50 crore passengers travel on its route in a year.

The current General Manager of Southern Railway as of June 2020 is John Thomas. He assumed the office in 2019. The network of this zone is around a 5000 km route.

Station Master 

A Station Master (SM) is in charge of running trains at a station. He/ She operates the signals and makes sure that everything goes as per the rules. It is the ultimate job of the station master, to keep all the passenger amenities fit & fine at his station, and makes sure the rail traveler do not face any problem.

Generally, each station has four Station Masters & who work in shifts. The primary job is to take care of train movements across his/her station, punctually and without any extra detention.

The All India Station Masters' Association (AISMA) is an Indian trade union representing the Station Masters of Indian Railways. Formed in 1953, it is among the best examples of work-category-based unions in the Indian railway industry. 

AISMA represents Assistant Station Masters (ASMs), Station Masters (SMs), Station Managers (SMRs), and Transportation Inspectors (TIs), numbering to 37000.