Railway zones
Topic: Transport and Communication in India · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 7 "Transport and Communication"
Meaning
Railway zones are the large regional units that Indian Railways is divided into so it can be managed. Each zone has its own headquarters and runs the trains and tracks in its area. NCERT lists 17 zones. Zone headquarters are a common Prelims question.
Example
Some zones and their headquarters:
- Central: Mumbai CST
- Northern: New Delhi
- East Central: Hajipur
- North East Frontier: Maligaon
- South East Central: Bilaspur
- South Western: Hubballi
- West Central: Jabalpur
- North Central: Prayagraj
A South Coast zone at Visakhapatnam was announced in 2019 (verify current).
Don't confuse with
- North Eastern zone vs North East Frontier zone: North Eastern has its headquarters at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. North East Frontier has its headquarters at Maligaon (Guwahati) in Assam.