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Abstract Railways are treated as the lifeline of India, as they play a major role in the transportation of passengers and goods due to their cost effectiveness and large network. From 1970 to 2014, passenger and the net ton kms increased by a factor of 4 and 10, respectively. This significant increase in transportation demand was met by the transition of locomotives from steam to diesel and electric in the last few decades, as better energy efficiency led to lower operation costs. For policy making, emission inventory of locomotives is essential for better understanding of the relation between air quality and the choice of traction. However, the available national emission inventories developed by the top-down approach using the national fuel consumption statistics contain huge uncertainties due to non-consideration of activity data, such as age, power and type of locomotive. To estimate this uncertainty, for the first time, a bottom-up approach using link specific activity data was used to develop the emission inventory for North-eastern Indian states. In comparison to the bottom-up approach, the emissions calculated by top-down approach were lower in case of passenger transport (246% for NO x) and higher (36% for NO x) in case of goods transport. Further analysis indicated that, even though the estimated emissions were sensitive to emission factors used, role of activity data was more significant. Assuming that this difference is representative for other parts of the country, a national emission inventory for Indian Railways was developed using a modified top-down approach. Using the newly developed emission inventory for railways and the existing fuel based emissions for roadways, it was estimated that if road based freight transport is switched to rail, an average decrease of 58% and 50% of NO x and CO 2 , respectively can be achieved. Highlights • The possible uncertainties using top-down approach for estimating greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions from Indian railways was estimated. • In comparison to the bottom-up, the emissions calculated by top-down approach were lower in case of passenger transport and higher in case of goods transport. • Around 147 and 2 Gg/y of reduction in CO 2 and NO x emissions can be achieved by shifting from road to rail transport in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport is one of the service sectors. Transport plays a vital link between in the production centers, distribution centers and the ultimate consumers'. Transport also exercises a unifying and integrating influence on the economy. Indian Railways is one of the means of transport of bulk goods for long distances and commuters in India. Indian Railways is the life line of India. Indian Railways is one of the biggest employers by employing 13.34 lakhs of employees. Indian Railways carried 8,397million passengers through 3327 number of Mail /Express trains run daily while the Passenger trains are 4610 run daily .The passenger earnings are Rs 365.32 billion while the freight earnings were Rs 915.71 billion .The NTKMS was 667 billion and PKMS is at 1159 billion during the year 2013-14 .Hence, the present study is based on analysis of the performance of Indian Railways in India from the following aspects: 1) A Brief history of Indian Railway 2) Organization Structure of Indian Railways 3) Physical Performance of Indian Railways 4) Financial Performance of Indian Railways 5) Productivity of Indian Railways 6) Human Resources in Indian Railways. The study is descriptive in character. The data is collected from the secondary source. The study period is from 1950-51 to 2013-14. The statistical data is analyzed by using various tools like percentages, ratios etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Sangeeta Baksi and Soumitra Biswas of the Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council and Alok Somani of Black Burn Co Pvt Ltd, India, discuss the development of composite interiors for the driver''s cabin of Indian Railways’ diesel locomotives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]