India: Rail lines (total route-km)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2021, India's rail lines (total route-km) rose 0.2% on 2020 (from 67,956 to 68,103).

Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2020), the average change was +0.3% and a typical year strayed about 0.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.8% in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.6% in 2019. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is upward, about 409.27 a year. A straight line explains 77% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2021, India had the 4th highest value of the 61 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to India in the 2021 ranking

• United States — 1st of 61: 148,553
• China — 2nd of 61: 109,767
• Russian Federation — 3rd of 61: 85,544
• Germany — 5th of 61: 33,401
• France — 6th of 61: 27,716
• Poland — 7th of 61: 18,620

What this measures

The total length of rail line in the country operated for passenger transport, goods transport, or both.

Limitations: Data for transport sectors are not always internationally comparable. Unlike for demographic statistics, national income accounts, and international trade data, the collection of infrastructure data has not been "internationalized". The data from UIC is based on voluntary reporting by railway companies, and can show drastic increases or decreases for some of the years due to lack of reporting by some of the companies in that country.

All 27 values

Rail lines (total route-km) in nearby economies

• Bangladesh — 2,877 (2019)
• Sri Lanka — 1,562 (2019)

More infrastructure data for India

• Fixed telephone subscriptions — 39.24 million (2024)
• Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 2.7 (2024)
• Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 1.23 million (2023)
• Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 1,807 (2023)
• Air transport, passengers carried — 180.42 million (2023)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions — 1.15 billion (2024)
• Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 79.35 (2024)
• Industrial design applications, nonresident, by count — 4,210 (2024)
• Industrial design applications, resident, by count — 36,118 (2024)
• Patent applications, nonresidents

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is India's rail lines (total route-km)?

68,103 in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is up 8.69% from 62,660 in 1995 (0.32% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 69,249 in 2018 and the lowest 62,495 in 1998.

How does India rank?

4th highest of 61 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in rail lines (total route-km) unusual for India?

In 2021, India's rail lines (total route-km) rose 0.2% on 2020 (from 67,956 to 68,103). Across the 25 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2020), the average change was +0.3% and a typical year strayed about 0.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator IS.RRS.TOTL.KM, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Railisa Database, International Union of Railways (UIC), uri: https://uic-stats.uic.org/ Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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