Zones All 18 Railway Zones Details
Railway GK Capsule – 18 Railway Zones (RRB/NTPC/Group-D/ALP)
1. Why “18 Zones” Matter in RRB Papers
- 1-2 direct questions every year on HQ city, year of formation, divisional HQ, mileage, slogan etc.
- 5-6 options in “match-the-following” & “statement-reason” type questions.
- Zone-wise facts are backbone for questions on longest/shortest routes, award-winning stations, loco-sheds, workshops.
2. Zone-at-a-Glance Master Table
(★ = frequently asked in shift-1/2 papers)
| # | Zone (short) | HQ City | Year* | Route km (2023) | Divisions (3-6 each) | Slogan/Tag line | Workshop (oldest) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ★ CR | Mumbai CST | 1951 | 3,950 | Mumbai, Pune, Bhusawal, Nagpur, Solapur | “Life-line of the Nation” | Parel (1874) |
| 2 | ★ ER | Kolkata | 1952 | 2,620 | Howrah, Sealdah, Asansol, Malda | “Progress through Partnership” | Jamalpur (1862) |
| 3 | ★ EC | Hajipur (Patna) | 2002 | 3,450 | Dhanbad, Danapur, Pt-DDU(Mughalsarai), Samastipur, Sonpur | “Dedicated to Nation” | Dhanbad (coaching) |
| 4 | ★ ECoR | Bhubaneswar | 2003 | 2,750 | Khurda Rd, Sambalpur, Waltair | “Service & Safety” | Mancheswar (carriage) |
| 5 | NR | Delhi | 1951 | 6,975 | Delhi, Ambala, Firozpur, Lucknow, Moradabad | “Safety First” | Charbagh (Lucknow) |
| 6 | NCR | Prayagraj | 2003 | 3,060 | Prayagraj, Jhansi, Agra | “Better Service Every Day” | Jhansi (1880) |
| 7 | NER | Gorakhpur | 1952 | 3,360 | Izzatnagar, Lucknow, Varanasi | “Pride of the Purv” | Gorakhpur (1903) |
| 8 | NWR | Jaipur | 2002 | 5,750 | Jaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur | “Safety-Speed-Service” | Ajmer (1870) |
| 9 | SR | Chennai | 1951 | 5,080 | Chennai, Tiruchchirappalli, Madurai, Palakkad, Salem | “Serving the Southern Heart” | Perambur (1856) |
| 10 | SCR | Secunderabad | 1966 | 3,440 | Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Guntur, Guntakal, Nanded | “Safety with Speed” | Lallaguda (1896) |
| 11 | SER | Kolkata (Garden Reach) | 1955 | 4,350 | Kharagpur, Adra, Chakradharpur, Ranchi | “Service & Dedication” | Kharagpur (1900) |
| 12 | SE CR | Bilaspur | 2003 | 2,450 | Bilaspur, Raipur, Nagpur (new) | “Progress & Prosperity” | Raipur (1890) |
| 13 | WR | Mumbai (Churchgate) | 1951 | 5,180 | Mumbai WR, Ratlam, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar | “Safety & Punctuality” | Mahalaxmi (1910) |
| 14 | WCR | Jabalpur | 2003 | 2,960 | Jabalpur, Bhopal, Kota | “Safety First Always” | Bhopal (1920) |
| 15 | KR (Konkan) | CBD Belapur | 1998 | 741 | Ratnagiri, Karwar (no division), 2 sub-divisions | “Sagar-Parikrama” | Verna (car shed) |
| 16 | ★ MR | Kolkata | 2019 | 1,360 | Sealdah, Howrah (shared infra) | “Metro for Metropolis” | Noapara workshop |
| 17 | SWR | Hubballi | 2003 | 3,380 | Hubballi, Bengaluru, Mysuru | “Progressive & Passenger Friendly” | Hubballi (1885) |
| 18 | ★ Metro MR | Delhi (Barakhamba) | 2019 (corporate) | 391 | Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad | “Change the Way you Move” | Sarai Rohilla depot |
*Year of notification (not operational start).
Route-km = broad-gauge + electrified (rounded to 10).
3. Quick-Fire Data Points (RRB “One-liner”)
- Largest (route-km): NR – 6,975 km
- Smallest: Metro MR – 391 km (conventional), KR – 741 km
- Youngest conventional zone: ECoR (2003-04)
- Oldest workshop still functioning: Jamalpur (ER) – 1862
- Only zone with 3 states’ HQ split: SCR (Telangana-AP-Karnataka)
- Only zone entirely on Western coast: KR (Konkan Railway)
- Only zone bifurcated from Metro parent: MR (Kolkata Metro)
- First zone to 100% electrification: CR (2021)
- Zone having longest river bridge (Vembanad): SR – 4.62 km
- Slogan coined by then MR V. K. Raina: CR – “Life-line of the Nation”
4. Previous-Year Pattern – 3 Most-Repeated Question Types
Type-A: Match HQ-City vs Zone (e.g. NTPC 2022 – 4 matches)
Type-B: Arrange zones chronologically of formation (asked in Group-D 2018)
Type-C: Identify division NOT belonging to a particular zone (ALP 2021)
5. Zone-wise Divisions (Exam-ready)
Question:01 Which of the following zones has the WRONG division listed against it?
A) South Central Railway – Guntakal
B) Western Railway – Bhavnagar
C) North Eastern Railway – Varanasi
D) East Central Railway – Dhanbad
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C
Explanation: Varanasi division belongs to Northern Railway (NR), not to North Eastern Railway (NER). NER’s divisions are Izzatnagar, Lucknow and Varanasi (only the NER HQ is at Gorakhpur, but the division itself is under NR).
6. 15 “Must-do” MCQs (with official key)
-
Headquarters of North Central Railway is situated at
A) New Delhi B) Prayagraj C) Lucknow D) Jaipur
Ans: B -
Match: Zone → Year of formation
a) South East Central b) East Central c) North Western- 2002 2) 2003 3) 2003
Correct code:
A) a-2, b-3, c-1 B) a-2, b-1, c-3 C) a-3, b-2, c-1 D) a-1, b-2, c-3
Ans: A
- 2002 2) 2003 3) 2003
-
Which of the following divisions does NOT belong to Western Railway?
A) Rajkot B) Bhavnagar C) Ratlam D) Nagpur
Ans: D (Nagpur is CR/SECR) -
The slogan “Dedicated to Nation” is adopted by
A) EC B) ECoR C) SCR D) NCR
Ans: A -
Largest route-km among the 18 zones is
A) NR B) WR C) SR D) SCR
Ans: A -
Konkan Railway passes through how many States?
A) 2 B) 3 C) 4 D) 5
Ans: B (Maharashtra-Goa-Karnataka) -
Which zone has its workshop at Jamalpur?
A) ER B) ECR C) NFR D) SER
Ans: A -
Kolkata Metro comes administratively under
A) ER B) MR C) SER D) Metro Railway (Kolkata) zone
Ans: D -
The youngest conventional zone is
A) ECoR B) WCR C) SECR D) NWR
Ans: A (formed 03-04-2003) -
Sealdah division is part of
A) ER B) NFR C) SER D) MR
Ans: A -
In which zone is the “Diesel Loco Modernisation Works” (DLMW) located?
A) WCR B) NCR C) NWR D) NR
Ans: B (Patiala – but Patiala is under NR; trick -> DLMW is at Patiala, hence NR) -
“Service & Safety” is the motto of
A) ECoR B) SER C) SCR D) SR
Ans: A -
Bilaspur division is under
A) SECR B) CR C) WR D) SER
Ans: A -
Number of divisions in South Central Railway is
A) 5 B) 6 C) 7 D) 4
Ans: B -
Match List-I (Zone) with List-II (HQ):
- North Eastern 2) South Western 3) West Central
a) Gorakhpur b) Hubballi c) Jabalpur
Correct code:
A) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c B) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c C) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a D) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
Ans: A
- North Eastern 2) South Western 3) West Central
7. 60-Second Revision Card
- 18 zones → remember 6 created in 2002-03 (NCR, NWR, SECR, WCR, ECoR, KRCL)
- Only 2 Metros → MR (Kolkata) & MR (Delhi)
- 3 zones headquartered in Kolkata → ER, SER, MR (Kolkata)
- 100% electrification zones (as on 2023): CR, WR, SER, SECR, ER, WCR
Keep this page printed near your study desk; revise HQ-Year-Division triangle daily – 5 min/day = 5 marks sure-shot in Railway GK!
BETA
