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How many Railway Zones are there in India 2024?

The Ministry of Railways has announced a huge number of vacancies through various recruitment notifications on the official website. As Indian Railways will fill up a large number of candidates with different educational backgrounds, candidates must collect detailed knowledge regarding the organization. Most of the candidates are wondering about “How many Railway Zones are there in India in 2024?” Sometimes the questions related to this can also be asked in the examination in the General Awareness section.

Indian Railways

Indian Railways is a government-owned organization managed by the Ministry of Railways. It runs the national railway system in India. The Railway Board, led by a chairman, oversees its operations and reports to the Ministry of Railways. The organization is structured into different departments and divided into various operational zones based on geography. The organization is split into different teams for specific jobs, such as running trains, maintaining tracks, handling traffic, managing train carriages, controlling signals, dealing with materials, managing staff, ensuring security, handling finances, and looking after health and safety.

Establishment of Railway Zones

Central Railways of India is distinguished by its expansive railway network, spanning more than 67,000 kilometers of tracks and serving an astonishing daily passenger count exceeding 23 million. The idea of railway zones in India started in the early 1950s when the Indian government took over the railways. In 1944, all the railway companies in existence at the time were taken over by the Government. At first, there were only six zones, mainly set up according to geography. As time passed, more zones were created to meet the increasing transportation needs of the country.

How many Railway Zones are there in India in 2024?

There are a total of 17 operational zones of Indian Railways as of 2024 with 68 divisions in it. A General manager heads the zones which are further subdivided into divisions. Each division is headed by a Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), responsible for the respective divisions’ operation and maintenance. There is a proposal for the 18 operational zone named as South Coast Railway Zone in 2023, which is not operational yet.

List of Indian Railway Zones

The below table provides you with a concise outline of all the zonal railways in India including the year of creation, their headquarters, number, and the name of the division in each zone.

S.No Zonal Railway Headquarter Year of Creation Number of Division Name of Divisions
1. Central Railway Mumbai 1951 5
  • Mumbai
  • Bhusaval
  • Nagpur
  • Solapur
  • Pune
2. Eastern Railway Kolkata 1952 4
  • Asansol
  • Howrah
  • Malda
  • Sealdah
3. East Central Railway Hajipur 2002 5
  • Sonpur
  • Samastipur
  • Danapur
  • Dhanbad
  • Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya
4. East Coast Railway Bhubaneswar 2003 3
  • Khurda Road
  • Sambalpur
  • Waltair
5. Northern Railway New Delhi 1952 5
  • Ambala
  • Delhi
  • Lucknow
  • Moradabad
  • Ferozpur
6. North Central Railway Prayagraj 2003 3
  • Prayagraj
  • Agra
  • Jhansi
7. North Eastern Railway Gorakhpur 1952 3
  • Lucknow
  • Izzatnagar
  • Varanasi
8. Northeast Frontier Railway Guwahati 1958 5
  • Alipurduar
  • Katihar
  • Lumding
  • Rangiya
  • Tinsukia
9. North Western Railway Jaipur 2002 4
  • Ajmer
  • Bikaner
  • Jaipur
  • Jodhpur
10. Southern Railway Chennai 1951 6
  • Chennai
  • Madurai
  • Palakkad
  • Tiruchchirappalli
  • Thiruvananthapuram
  • Salem
11. South Central Railway Secunderabad 1966 6
  • Guntakal
  • Guntur
  • Hyderabad
  • Nanded
  • Secunderabad
  • Vijayawada
12. South Eastern Railway Kolkata 1955 4
  • Adra
  • Chakradharpur
  • Kharagpur
  • Ranchi
13. South East Central Railway Bilaspur 2003 3
  • Raipur
  • Nagpur
  • Bilaspur
14. South Western Railway Hubli 2003 3
  • Bengaluru
  • Hubballi
  • Mysuru
15. Western Railway Mumbai 1951 6
  • Mumbai Central
  • Vadodara
  • Ratlam
  • Ahmedabad
  • Rajkot
  • Bhavnagar
16. West Central Railway Jabalpur 2003 3
  • Bhopal
  • Jabalpur
  • Kota
17. Metro Railway Kolkata 2010
Total 68

FAQs

How many Railway Zones are there in India 2024?

There are total 17 operational zones in India.

About the Author

Aishwarya Bhandarkar is a content writer having experience of 3.5+ years in blogging of creating content for competitive entrance and government exams. She believes in delivering simplifying complex concepts into understandable and user-friendly content on time to the readers and helping aspirants for various exams..

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