Indian Railways delivers about 2.5 crore passengers daily to their destinations. Apart from this, Indian Railways has given employment to more than 1.4 million people. Thus it is also one of the largest employment donors in the world. Indian Railways has the fourth largest railway network in the world by size. As of March 2017, the total length of the track here was 121,407 km.
There is a scientific reason behind the laying of small stones between the railway tracks. In the early days, railway tracks were constructed with the help of steel and wooden rails, but in today's times cement instead of wooden rails. Rectangular ingots are used, which are called "sleepers".
In fact, the purpose of laying small stones between the tracks of the rail is to keep the wooden tracks or cement blocks firmly in place so that these blocks are firmly holding the railway tracks.
Actually, when the train runs, it creates vibration in the ground and the tracks. In addition, the sunlight spreads the tracks and shrinks in winter. This puts the entire weight of the train on wooden or cement blocks, but due to the stones being laid between the tracks, all the load goes on these stones, due to which the vibration, the shrinking of the tracks, the load of the train are all balanced.
Along with this, one reason for laying stones between the railway tracks is that when the heavy train passes through the railway track, its balance should be maintained and there is no damage to the land. Also, laying stones between the railway tracks The rain water flows easily and there is no mud between and on the railway tracks. Apart from this, laying stones between the railway tracks also prevents noise pollution.
