Rail transportation is a means of carrying of goods and passengers by way of wheeled vehicles running on the tracks of rail. As against road transport, wherein vehicles run on prepared surface, vehicles running on rail are also directionally guided by the tracks that they run on. Track normally consist of steel rails installed on ballast and ties/sleepers, on which the rolling stock normally fitted on metal wheels move. Nevertheless, other variations are also possible like slab track, where the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation standing on a prepared subsurface.

In India, a number of top railways like Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, Hind Terminals Private Limited, Konkan Railway Corporation Limited, Kolkata Metro, Delhi Metro and of course most of us know Indian Railways are functioning efficiently. These railways normally enter into contract with rail road construction companies for effective construction of rail tracks in such a way that railway transportation service can be offered by these top companies functioning in the railways sector. Like roads are being constructed by top construction companies, railway tracks are also being constructed by some of the top companies and the names of these top companies are given below:

Top four railroad construction companies:

• Balaji Railroad Systems Limited

• Ircon International Limited

• Plasser India

• Royal Track

Some of the details regarding these top companies in the Indian Railroad Construction business are given below:

Balaji Railroad Systems Limited:

This company is popularly known as BARSYL and the company came into existence in the year 1986. The head officer of this company is located in the city of Secunderabad in the state of Andhra Pradesh and its branch offices are located in other top cities in India like Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Vizag. They have completed five rail road construction projects in India and they are currently engaged in five other projects as well. The company has also completed eight projects for their international clients with respect to rails. They are offering the following services:

• Manpower Planning & Training

• Operation & Maintenance

• Economic Studies

• Project Management

• Mechanical Engineering

• Over head electrification

• Signally & telecommunication

• Civil engineering

• Railway consultancy

Ircon International Limited:

IRCON International Limited is a government company formed by the Ministry of Railways of the Central Government under the Companies Act 1956. The company came into existence in the name of Indian Railway Construction Company Limited and the company is best known for its consistency, commitment and quality with respect to performance. The company has operations in several states in India and in other countries like Sri Lanka, Algeria, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Bangladesh, Nepal and Malaysia. They have completed several railroad construction projects in India and abroad with the best quality.

Plasser India:

Plasser India completed its first project in the year 1965 and right from their inception, the company has been offering the best services to the companies in railway and other sectors in India. At present, they are engaged in the manufacture of the most up-to-date high performance machines for maintenance of track, that are of high sophistication. They have manufactured several machines like

• PRB 400

• USP 2000 SWS

• Unimat-08-475/4S

• VM 170 Jumbo

• MFS Material Conveyer and Hopper Unit

• Unimat 08-275 3S

• Unimat 08-275

• APT 500

• RM 80 UHR

• FRM 80

• 09-3X

• 09-32 CSM

• 08-32 & 08-16

All these products pertain to railroads.

Royal Track:

Royal Track belongs to Royal Group of Companies and the company is operating in the fields of rail track component, textile, structural engineering, engineering construction and steel. They are offering broad range of disciplines and skills and they deliver technical excellence across various spectrum from basic designing to highest level of supply and implementation.