India celebrates the 60th anniversary of independence from British rule this year, but one British inheritance is still going strong – Indian Railways.

They have been operating for 155 years and, like much else in India, range from the traditional and people-intensive to the high-tech.

With more than 1.5 million employees, Indian Railways is said to be the world's largest civilian employer and is still government-run. The Ministry of Railways oversees a Railway Board and operations are undertaken by its 16 regional railways. There are six factories manufacturing rolling stock.

The statistics are high. Every day 9,000 passenger and 5,000 freight trains run, carrying a million tonnes of freight and about 15 million passengers to more than 6,800 stations along 40,000 route miles.

And it is growing. By 2011 passenger journeys are expected to increase by more than 40 per cent to 8,400 million a year; with freight rising 75 per cent to 1,100 million tonnes.

Strategic development of the network moves through five-year plans – this year sees the start of the 11th plan, which involves a £30 million investment, a three-fold increase on the previous plan.

The 11th plan budget will be funded by railway income, market borrowing, government support and, for major projects, public-private partnerships. It features new passenger and freight lines plus the creation of four high-speed (300 km/h, 186mph) passenger corridors to compete with budget airlines and meet the needs of a growing population, of which almost half will be below the age of 25 by 2012. The first corridor could be operational by 2012-13.

There is also a series of projects to increase capacity within the so-called Golden Quadrilateral – a network bounded by the four metropolitan areas of Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai.

The budget for 2007-08 includes 800 extra coaches, increased frequencies, new suburban lines, introduction of air-conditioned long-distance services and retailing initiatives, including 6,000 automatic ticket vending machines, internet sales and sales outside traditional railway outlets.

Last year plans were approved for the first two high-performance dedicated freight corridors to separate this traffic from passenger trains. Built to a larger loading gauge and accommodating axle loads of up to 30 tonnes, compared to the current 20, the freight trains will be controlled by GPS-based signalling.

Other freight initiatives include triple-stack container trains and ‘merry-go-round’ trains for power station coal. Container traffic is being opened to other operators on an ‘open access’ basis. More than a dozen potential companies have shown interest.

 The 11th plan will double production of locomotives and rolling stock and concentrate on high-horsepower and energy efficient traction. In the past, India has been largely self-sufficient in railway procurement, with most locomotives and coaches built in government-owned factories. But independent bids are now being sought to set up a new diesel locomotive factory in Bihar State.

Many familiar names are to be found in the support and supply industry, including some traditional names that have disappeared in the UK.

This wide market has led UK railway exhibition specialists Mack Brooks to set up Exporail India 2007 at the Pragati Maidan Exhibition Centre in New Delhi next month, where they will showcase the technologies needed to support India’s future development.