The rolling stock consisted of 318,196 freight wagons, 84,863 passenger coaches, 14,781 locomotives and other multiple units owned by Indian Railways apart from rail-sets operated by metro rail corporations.

[11] In 1853, the first passenger train on 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge ran for 34 kilometres (21 mi) between Bombay and Thane which had 14-carriages carrying 400 people, hauled by three steam locomotives: the Sahib, Sindh and Sultan.

Eastern India's first passenger train ran 39 km (24 mi) from Howrah, near Kolkata, to Hoogly on 15 August 1854.

[9] The construction of 97 km (60 mi) line in the South between Royapuram in Madras and Arcot started in 1853, which became operational on 1 July 1856.

[14] On 24 February 1873, a horse-drawn 3.8 km (2.4 mi) tram opened in Calcutta between Sealdah and Armenian Ghat street.

[29] On 1 April 1929, Grand Trunk Express commenced operations between Peshawar in the North Western Railway and Mangalore with two coaches detached and connected to Madras further.

[34] The Grand Trunk express commenced operating as a dedicated daily train between Madras and Delhi from 1 September 1930.

[37] Beginning 1926 and for statistical purposes, the Government of British Raj classified Indian railway systems according to three classes.

[43] In 1957, Indian Railways adopted 25 kV AC traction with the first trial runs operating with the WAM-1 locomotives in 1959 and commercial services beginning in August 1960.

[9] In 1966, electrification of several suburban tracks around Delhi, Madras and Calcutta were completed with the 25 kV AC system.

[67] On 5 April 2016, Gatimaan Express, then India's fastest train with a maximum speed of 160 km/h (99 mph), made its first run from New Delhi to Agra Cantonment.

[70] In March 2020, Indian Railways announced a nationwide shutdown of passenger service to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in India with the freight operations continuing to transport essential goods.

[84][85] Indian Railways announced plans to become a net-zero carbon emission railway by 2030 and has implemented rainwater harvesting at stations,[86] reforestation along the tracks,[87] introduction of solar-powered trains,[88] installation of solar and wind power generation facilities,[89] and sustainable LED lighting at all the stations.

[101][102] Indian railways operates a 68,584 km (42,616 mi) 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge network which is equipped with long-welded, high-tensile 52kg/60kg 90 UTS rails with pre-stressed concrete (PSC) sleepers and elastic fastenings.

[1] Indian Railways has historically subsidized the passenger segment with income from the freight business and hence, freight services were unable to complete other modes of transport on both cost and speed of delivery, leading to continuous erosion of market share till the early 2000s.

[107] End-to-end integrated transport solutions such as roll-on, roll-off (RORO) service, a road-rail system pioneered by Konkan Railway in 1999 to carry trucks on flatbed trailers has been extended to other routes.

[1] Indian Railways uses a range of signalling technologies and methods to manage its train operations based on traffic density and safety requirements.

[150] Unreserved tickets for short distance or unplanned travels may be purchased at stations or through UTS mobile app at any time before departure.

[152] Discounted fares are applicable for railway employees, senior citizens (over age 60), the differently-abled, students, athletes, patients and those taking competitive examinations.

[156] In 2018, Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, rolled out a semi-high-speed EMU train-set, capable of reaching 180 km/h (110 mph).

[157][158] For high-speed rail, the Indian railways will construct bullet train assembly facilities on a public-private participation (PPP) model with Japanese companies setting up manufacturing facilities in India to build the parts for bullet train sets.

[166][167] In 2017, a 508 km (316 mi) standard gauge line between Mumbai and Ahmedabad was approved for construction and is expected to be operational by 2028.

[171][172] In April 2016, WAP-5 hauled Gatimaan Express became the fastest commercial train in India, with a maximum operational speed of 160 km/h (99 mph).

[174] In October 2023, Namo Bharat, built for RapidX by Alstom was launched and is capable of reaching speeds of up to 180 km/h (110 mph).

[175] In December 2023, two modified WAP-5 locomotives were used to haul the Amrit Bharat Express in a push-pull configuration, capable of reaching speeds of up to 160 km/h (99 mph).

Private railways are operated by various ports such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Pipavav and the Bhilai Steel Plant.

[202][203] Metro trains use electric multiple unit train-sets manufactured by various state-owned and private companies.

[204][205] The trains operate on 25 KV AC through an overhead catenary system with a maximum speed of 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph).

[209] Metro trains operate in Kolkata, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Lucknow.

[1] Metro coaches are manufactured by various companies including state-owned ICF, BEML and private companies like Alstom, Mitsubishi, Hyundai Rotem, Bombardier, Siemens, CRRC, Titagarh Firema and CAF with the respective metro systems maintaining their own maintenance depots.