262 Interesting Books to Discover Indian Railways
This compilation of the top 262 books will help you discover the spectacular Indian Railways, the 4th largest rail network in the world (Source: Wiki).
Indian Railways occupies an important place in the history of modern India. Not only did it help leaders like Mahatma Gandhi travel across the country but visualizing a nation as great as India became easier because of the railways.
So, without much ado, let’s get started.
Compilation of 262 Highly Popular Books on Indian Railways
1. Indian Railways – A Visual Journey: Transforming a Nation’s Destiny
Author: DK
2. A Short History of Indian Railways
Author: Rajendra B. Aklekar
3. The Great Indian Railway Atlas – 4th Edition
Author: Samit Roychoudhury
4. Railways and the Raj
Author: Christian Wolmar
5. Changing Tracks – Reinventing the Spirit of Indian Railways
Author: V. Nilakant
6. The Penguin Book of Indian Railway Stories
Author: Ruskin Bond
7. Third Class in Indian Railways
Author: Mahatma Gandhi
8. Indian Railways – The Weaving of a National Tapestry
Authors: Bibek Debroy, Sanjay Chadha, Vidya Krishnamurthi
9. Around India in 80 Trains (Kindle Edition)
Author: Monisha Rajesh
10. The Great Indian Peninsula Railway – A Journey Through Time (1853-1871)
Author: Dr Rita P. Bhambi
11. India’s Railway Man – A Biography of E. Sreedharan
Author: Rajendra B. Aklekar
12. Halt Station India – The Dramatic Tale of the Nation’s First Rail
Author: Rajendra B. Aklekar
13. The Purveyors of Destiny – A Cultural Biography of the Indian Railways
Author: Arup Chatterjee
14. The Great Indian Railways – A Cultural Biography
Author: Arup Chatterjee
15. The Boy Who Loved Trains
Author: Deepak Sapra
16. Chai, Chai – Travels in Places Where You Stop But Never Get Off
Author: Bishwanath Ghosh
17. Treasure At the Train Station – An Adventure in Mumbai
Author: Joeanna Rebello Fernandes, Rituparna Sarkar, Hitesh Sonar
18. 500 Miles (Kindle Edition)
Author: Yogesh Mali
19. The Railway Chronicles
Author: Bibek Debroy
20. Engines of Change – The Railroads That Made India
Author: Ian J. Kerr
21. Railways in Modern India
Author: Ian J. Kerr
22. The Train to Darjeeling & Other Railway Tales
Author: Sanjoy Mookerjee
23. India by Rail
Author: Royston Ellis
24. Rail Across India – A Photographic Journey
Author: Paul C. Pet (Author), Geoffrey Moorhouse (Author), Brian Hollingsworth (Author)
25. Welcome Aboard the Indian Railways
Author: Savitha Ram Mohan
26. Crossing the Lines
Author: Pramod Kumar
27. India Junction – A Window to the Nation
Editor: Seema Sharma
28. Our Indian Railway – Themes in India’s Railway History
Author: Roopa Srinivasan, Manish Tiwari, and Sandeep Silas
29. 27 Down – New Departures in Indian Railway Studies
Author: Ian J. Kerr
30. Indian Railways – Strategy for Reforms
Author: K.B. Verma
31. The Great Railway Bazaar – By Train Through Asia
Author: Paul Theroux
32. The Great Indian Railway Romance (Kindle Edition)
Author: Rajendra Aklekar
33. Resurgent Railways
Author: Dr Rajinder Kumar Malik
34. Tracking Modernity – India’s Railway and the Culture of Mobility
Author: Marian Aguiar
35. Railways in Modern India
Author: Ramswarup D Tiwari
36. Tracks of Change – Railways and Everyday Life in Colonial India
Author: Ritika Prasad
37. Railways in India, by an Engineer
Author: Anonymous
38. Light Railways in India 1899 – Description & Maps (Kindle Edition)
Author: DC Robinson
39. To Kerala On the Konkan Railway: Kerala & South West India by Train (Kindle Edition)
Author: Keith Harris
40. South Indian Railway – In 1900 (Kindle Edition)
Author: DC Robinson
41. History of Railway in Rajasthan (Kindle Edition)
Author: Dr Mohanlal Gupta
42. Indian Steam in the 1970s (Kindle Edition)
Author: George Woods
43. Railonama
Author: Anupama Sharma
44. The Illustrated Guide to the South Indian Railway
Author: South Indian Railway Company Ltd.
45. Memoirs of a Railway Man – Life on Rails (Kindle Edition)
Author: MK Rao
46. Palace on Wheels – A Royal Train Journey
Author: Dharmendar Kanwar
47. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway – India 1921 (Kindle Edition)
Author: DC Robinson
48. Bridges and Crossings – Meeting to Part and Parting to Meet
Author: Meera Sundararajan
49. Whistling Steam – Romance of Indian Rails
Author: Dileep Prakash
50. A Journey to Shimla by Toy Train (Kindle Edition)
Author: Sumit Raj Vashisht
51. How the Railways Came to India
Author: Anuradha Kumar
52. Bankruptcy to Billions – How the Indian Railways Transformed
Author: Sudhir Kumar, Shagun Mehrotra
53. Railway Man – An Engineer’s Memoir
Author: RR Jaruhar
54. Darjeeling Revisited – A Journey on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
Author: Bob Cable
55. Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) – From Lifeline to Oblivion
Author: VM Govind Krishnan
56. From Earth to Sky – A Photographic Journey on the Kalka – Shimla Railway
Author: Sanjay Kaushal, Shubh Mohan Singh
57. Steam – India’s Last Steam Trains
Author: Mark Tully, Stephen Dupont
58. Relics of the Raj
Author: CJ Gammell
59. Darjeeling’s Wonderful Railway
Author: David Charlesworth, Richard Wallace, David Churchill, and Others
60. Narrow Gauge Railways – Two Feet and Under
Author: Leslie S. Robertson, Andrew Neale
61. Indian Railways – One Hundred Years (1853 – 1953)
Author: JN Sahni
62. Vibes – Incessant Journey of Thoughts
Author: Mizuma Lenin
63. 42 Summers – A Journey With the Indian Railways (Kindle Edition)
Author: Ashok Kumar Jain
64. Close Encounters on Parallel Lines (Kindle Edition)
Author: Venkateshwaran Anand
65. Footprints on the Track
Edited By: Noel Thomas
66. Hill Railways of the Indian Subcontinent
Author: Richard Wallace
67. Anchoring a City Line 1899 – 1999 – The History of the Western Suburban Railway and its Headquarters in Bombay
Author: Sharada Dwivedi & Rahul Mehrotra
68. India’s Disappearing Railways – A Photographic Journey
Author: Angus McDonald
69. India by Road and Rail – Diary of an Overland Journey in Nehru’s Time
Author: Daniel Griffin
70. Journey of a Railway Man (Kindle Edition)
Author: Om Prakash Kesari
71. Local Passenger – Short Stories Based on Indian Railway Journeys
Author: Shardul Dave
72. The Station Master
Author: Indranil Mukherjee
73. Indian Railways – My Own Time Machine (Kindle Edition)
Author: Yukti Chawla
74. Exploring Indian Railways
Author: Bill Aitken
75. Railways of India
Author: Jan B Young
76. Black Beauties: The Surviving Steam Locomotives of India
Author: Vikas Singh | Publication: Rail Enthusiasts’ Society
77. Patna Rail-Cum-Road Bridge – A Journey
Author: East Central Railway
78. The Saga of Indian Railways in Jharkhand (Kindle Edition)
Author: Dr Anwar Sadat
79. Steam Locomotives of Indian Railways
Author: Twahir Alam
80. My Train 18 Story
Author: Sudhanshu Mani
81. Trackside: A Collection of Railway Stories (Kindle Edition)
Author: Bharath Moro
82. Iron Ore – The Railway Story
Author: GK Mohanty
83. Train to Bombay
Author: Jaina Sanga
84. Western Railway
Author: Kuntal Sampat
85. Bridges, Buildings & Black Beauties of Northern Railway
Author: Vinoo N Mathur
86. Building India – Konkan Railway
Author: Ishwar Das Chopra
87. Rear Window – A Rail Odyssey
Author: Sudakshina Kundu Mookerjee
88. History of Bombay Suburban Railways (Kindle Edition)
Author: Dr AK Arora
89. Train Addiction – Travels Through India by Train
Author: R Raj Rao
90. Up the Line to Darjeeling
Author: David Charlesworth
91. The Incredible Darjeeling ‘B’ Class
Author: David Churchill
92. The Story of 19B
Author: David Charlesworth
93. Darjeeling’s Railway in Pictures: The Digital Years
Compiled By: David Charlesworth
94. Railway, Bridge and Tunnel Engineering
Author: Ketki B. Dalal, Rangwala
95. The Story of Indian Alco Locomotives: Legend of the WDM2
Author: SM Sharma & Joydeep Dutta
Available at: National Rail Museum, Delhi
96. India, No Problem, Sahib: A Tour of India and Her Railways
Author: Peter David Jordan, Richard Paget, David Charlesworth
97. The Imperial Way
Author: Paul Theroux, Steve McCurry
98. Tales of Kurla Station
Author: Debashis Mitra
99. Social Costs of Indian Railway
Author: Dr Shree Chandra Jha
100. The Unforgettable Journey of a Railway Engineer
Author: Girish Nandan Sahay
101. Rail Transport in India: LifeLine of India
Author: Ranjith Kumar
102. Two Feet in Asia: By Train Across Central India (Kindle Edition)
Author: Fergus Blakiston
103. Trailing Window: A Journey into Rail History (Kindle Edition)
Author: Ramarao Annavarapu
104. Bombay Train… A Strangers Perspective (Kindle Edition)
Author: Arjun Purkayastha
105. Indian Narrow Gauge Steam Remembered
Author: Lawrence G. Marshall (Author)
106. The Last Small Train of Katwa
Author: Bishnu Goswami
107. Howrah Junction
Author: Sanjoy Mookerjee
108. The Iron Sherpa: Darjeeling & Its Remarkable Railway (Volume 1)
Author: Terry Martin
109. The Iron Sherpa: Darjeeling & Its Remarkable Railway (Volume 2)
Author: Terry Martin
110. Halfway to Heaven (Darjeeling & Its Remarkable Railway)
Author: Terry Martin
111. Back on Track: Restoring Darjeeling Railway
Author: Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society
112. Indian Broad Gauge Steam Remembered
Author: Lawrence G. Marshall
113. Indian Metre Gauge Steam Remembered
Author: Lawrence G. Marshall
114. Indian Locomotives (Part 2 – Metre Gauge 1872-1940)
Author: Hugh Hughes
115. The Toy Train: The Kalka Shimla Railway (Kindle Edition)
Author: Raaja Bhasin
116. Indian Railways Financial Meltdown
Author: RN Mishra
117. Night Train to Jamalpur
Author: Andrew Martin
118. Bullet Train Streaming Through India (Kindle Edition)
Author: Dhammika Kodikara
119. One Night At Begun Kodar Railway Station (Kindle Edition)
Author: Chandan Chattopadhyay
120. Indian Railways
Author: MA Rao
121. Train to Pakistan
Author: Khushwant Singh
122. Mumbai By Bus & Train, South Bombay
Author: Hella Stichlmair
123. Night Train to Varanasi: India with My Daughter (Kindle Edition)
Author: Sean Doyle
124. Effects Of Heavy Haul Trains On Kottavalasa-Kirandul Railway Line
Author: Challa Soma Sundaram
125. The Superfast Express
Author: Srivenkatanathan N
126. Railway Transporation
Author: S Ponnuswamy
127. Bhowani Junction (Kindle Edition)
Author: John Masters
128. A Train Journey (Kindle Edition)
Author: Shailesh Chandra
129. Indian Railway & Travel
Author: Sanjoy Sarkar
130. Indian Railways: Glorious 150 Years
Author: RR Bhandari
131. Locomotives in Steam
Author: RR Bhandari
132. Trains Unchained: The Continuing Saga of Art & Railways, the Safar
Author: Sudhanshu Mani
Available At/From: Secretary, ICF, Perambur, Chennai
133. Greening of a Factory
Author: Sudhanshu Mani & DP Dash
Available At/From: Secretary, ICF, Perambur, Chennai
134. A Skein of Trains: Recounting a Chennai Story
Author: Sudhanshu Mani
Available At/From: Secretary, ICF, Perambur, Chennai
135. Reinventing the Wheel: Another Bangalore Saga
Author: Sudhanshu Mani
Available At/From: Secretary, RWF, Yelahanka, Bangalore
136. Art & Railways: A Bangalore Saga
Author: Sudhanshu Mani & Lily Pandeya
Available At: National Rail Museum, New Delhi
137. Between The Lines: A Railman’s Journey
Author: Ramarao Annavarapu
138. Electronic Interlocking on Indian Railways
Author: Purnachandra Rao Vallabhaneni
139. Never A Bystander: Indian Railways in Transition
Author: Sudheer Kumar
140. Tiger of Bhanwar Nalla & Other Stories (Kindle Edition)
Author: Ramarao Annavarapu
141. The Lady at the Chennai Platform (Kindle Edition)
Author: Trilok Nath Dubey
142. Indian Locomotives: Broad Gauge
Author: Hugh Hughes
143. In a Train to Trivandrum
Author: Anirban Mukherjee
144. Just Do…!!! (Kindle Edition)
Author: Laxmi Nigade
145. The Train That Had Wings: Selected Stories of M. Mukundan
Translated By: Donald R. Davis
146. The Pink Coach
Author: Khushboo Bansal
147. History of the East Indian Railway (1906)
Author: George Huddleston
148. My First Train Trip: An Untold and Unique Partition Story (Kindle Edition)
Author: Munira Lokhandwala
149. The Train Journey (Kindle Edition)
Author: Smruti Sinha
150. Kakori: The Train Robbery That Shook The British Raj
Author: Prachi Garg
151. Iconic Bridges of Indian Railways
Author: Dr Yatindra Pal Singh
152. Odisha The Railway Story
Author: Dilip Samantray
153. Indian Railway Buildings: Heritage, History & Beyond
Author: Vinoo N. Mathur
154. Trains at a Glance (October 2023 – June 2024)
Published By: Ministry of Railways
Click Here to View/Download PDF
155. East India (Railways): Report on the Administration & Working of Indian Railways
Author: Thomas Robertson
156. Bullock Cart to Bullet Train
Author: J S Mundrey
157. Railway Track Engineering
Author: J S Mundrey
158. Social Costs of Indian Railways
Author: Shree Chandra Jha
159. Garden Reach, A Railway Story
Author: Saibal Bose
To get your copy, contact the CPRO, SER at +91 9002080081 or [email protected]
160. Bengal Nagpur Railway, A Legacy
Author: G K Mohanty
To get your copy, contact the CPRO, SER at +91 9002080081 or [email protected]
161. Love on a Train (Kindle Edition)
Author: Sudha Murthy
162. Shadows in the Night
Author: Suny Misra
163. Metro Rail Projects in India
Author: M Ramachandran
164. Bullet Trains
Author: R K Rousan
165. Assam Mail
Author: Sanjoy Mookerjee
166. My Derailments With Truth
Author: Ateesh Singh
167. Trailing Window: A Journey into Rail History II
Author: Ramarao Annavarapu
168. Rail-Nama – The Evolution of the Railways in India – An Eastern Focus
Author: Dipak Raychaudhuri
169. The Indian Railways: Journey of Indian Railways (Kindle Edition)
Author: Vitthal Madane
170. Indian Rolling Stock in HO Scale
Author: Glyn Thomas
Editor: Julian J Rainbow
171. History of the East Indian Railway
Author: George Huddleston
172. Indian Railways: A Study in Public Utility Administration
Author: Amba Prasad
173. The Official Guide to the South Eastern Railway, and the Royal Mail Route to Paris, India, and the Colonies
Author: Cassell and Company
174. Why & How Did the British Empire Invest in the Railways in India (1858-1947) – Kindle Edition
Author: Arkaprabha Pal
175. Lines of the Nation: Indian Railway Workers, Bureaucracy, and the Intimate Historical Self – Kindle Edition
Author: Laura Bear
176. India’s Railway History: A Research Handbook
Author: John Hurd & Ian J. Kerr
177. Indian Railways, by an Old Indian Postmaster [Sir W.P. Andrew]
![Indian Railways, by an Old Indian Postmaster [Sir W.P. Andrew]](https://www.tracks2travel.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Indian-Railways-by-an-Old-Indian-Postmaster-200x300.jpg)
Author: William Patrick Andrew
178. Railways’ Economic Impact on Uttar Pradesh & Colonial North India (1860-1914): The Iron Raj
Author: Ian D. Derbyshire
179. Financing India’s Imperial Railways, 1875-1914
Author: Stuart Sweeney
180. Kisson ki Rail (Hindi Edition)
Author: Abhidha Sharma
181. Colonialism, Development, & the Environment: Railways and Deforestation in British India, 1860-1884
Author: Pallavi V. Das
182. Railwaychi Ranjak Safar (Marathi)
Author: Dr Avinash Vaidya
183. North Western Railway of India
Author: Alon Siton
184. Rails of Change: Tales of an Indian Railways Adventurer & the Quest for Integrity
Author: Ayush Ranjan Srivastava
185. Proceed Signal (Kindle Edition)
Author: Pramod Sharma
186. Shunting the Nation
Author: Aniruddha Bose
187. Indian Railways Rates And Regulation
Author: NB Mehta
188. Railways of the British Empire: The Indian Subcontinent
Author: Alon Siton & Colin Alexander
189. Railways of the Raj
Author: Alon Siton
190. A Study of Passenger Amenities in Indian Railways
Author: Alka Bindra
191. Strangers in My Sleeper: Rail Journeys and Encounters on Indian Railways
Author: Peter Riordan
192. Thank You Indian Railways
Author: Sthitaprajna Debadutta Kar
193. The Railways Of India: With An Account Of Their Rise, Progress, And Construction (1868)
Author: Edward Davidson
194. Major Railway Accidents in India, 2000-09
Author: Ajai Banerji
195. Last Train To Mumbai: A Lockdown Investigation
Author: Arun Nair
196. The Official Guide to the South Eastern Railway, and the Royal Mail Route to Paris, India, and the Colonies
Author: Cassell & Company
197. Administrative Report On Indian State Railways
Author: Anonymous
198. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway: Illustrated Guide for Tourists
Author: Anonymous
199. Travels by a Lesser Line
Author: Bill Aitken
200. Rail Romance
Author: Krupa Sagar Sahoo
201. A Station Named Liligumma & Other Rail Stories
Author: Krupa Sagar Sahoo
202. Smoking Beauties: Steam Engines of the World
Author: Ashwani Lohani
203. Girin Babu Tea
Author: Sanjoy Mookerjee
204. General Dabba (Hindi Kindle Edition)
Author: Sohel Khan
205. Steam in India
Author: Hugh Hughes
206. Indian Locomotives: 1941-1990 Part 4
Author: Hugh Hughes
207. Beeswi Shatabdi Mein Bhartiya Rail (Hindi)
Author: Dr. Sunil Kumar Neemesh
208. Exotic Indian Mountain Railways
Author: R R Bhandari
209. Jodhpur Railway
Author: R R Bhandari
210. Southern Railway. A Saga of 150 Glorious Years 1852 – 2003
Author: R R Bhandari
211. Western Railway Metre Gauge System
Author: R R Bhandari
212. Western Railway Narrow Gauge System
Author: R R Bhandari
213. South Eastern Railway: March to the New Millennium
Author: R R Bhandari
214. Kangra Valley Railway
Author: R R Bhandari
215. Kalka Simla Railway
Author: R R Bhandari
216. The Blue Chip Railway (1887-1987)
Author: R R Bhandari
217. Class A Locomotives of the Barsi Light Railway
Author: Narrow Gauge Railway Society
218. Darjeeling & Matheran: Steam on the 2ft lines
Author: Kemuri Pro
219. Indian Narrow Gauge Railways
Author: Hugh Hughes & Frank Jux
220. Industrial Railways & Locomotives of India & South Asia
Author: Simon Darvill
221. Konkan Railway: A Dream Come True
Author: Shivdasani Menka & Kane Raju
222. Story of Chittaranjan Locomotive Works
Author: R K Vir
223. A Guide to Diesel & Electric Locomotives of Indian Railways
Author: JE Daboo
224. Railways of India
Author: JN Westwood
225. Indian Railways: A Colonial Eyewash
Author: Aryaman Agarwal
226. Indian Railway Safety
Author: Arya Bhushan & MM Agarwal
227. Nomads & Love in Railways Colony
Author: Anita Kumari & Brajendra Kumar Singh
228. Boarding Bandra Central
Author: Edwin E Fernandes
229. The Chainage Guide (Version 10.4)
Author: S Aravind
230. From the Hooghly to the Himalayas
Author: Anonymous
231. Indian Railways Official Magazine
Publisher: Ministry of Railways
Available In: English & Hindi
Formats: E-Book & Physical Book
Click Here to Subscribe for 1/2/3 Years
232. Infrastructure Development and Its Environmental Impact: Study of Konkan Railways
Author: Prabha Shastri Ranade
233. Train to India: Memories of Another Bengal
Author: Maloy Krishna Dhar
234. Bhartiya Rail Ke Anokhe Pool (Hindi)
Author: Vimlesh Chandra
235. Reflections on the Palace on Wheels Journey (Kindle Edition)
Author: Dananthi Arnott & Alan Nankervis
236. Indian Railways: A Journey
Author: Q L Gautama
237. Darjeeling Himalayan Railway: A Journey Among the Clouds
Publisher: DK
238. Improving Freight Performance of Indian Railways
Author: Dr. Uday Shankar Jha
239. Managing Indian Railways
Author: VK Agarwal
240. Indian Railways as Connected with the British Empire in the East
Author: William P. Andrew
241. Mumbai on a Local: Western Edition (Kindle Edition)
Author: Nikhil D’Cruz
242. Footboard Fables: Collection from Mumbai Local Trains
Author: Dr Laxmi Periyaswamy
243. Kashmir Ghati Railway (Hindi)
Author: Vimlesh Chandra
244. Bhartiya Rail Ka Gauravpurn 170 Varsh (Hindi)
Author: Vimlesh Chandra
245. Rulanubandh (Marathi)
Author: Ganesh Manohar Kulkarni
246. The Unsolved Mystery of Begunkodor (Kindle Edition)
Author: Joydeep Sarkar
247. Namaste Yatri: The Fascinating World of Indian Railways
Author: Siddharth Varadaprasad
248. Why & How Did the British Empire Invest in the Railways in India (1858-1947) – Kindle Edition
Author: Arkaprabha Pal
249. The 6th Stop on the Hill Train
Author: Nina Varghese
250. WR’s Coffee Table Book – Always Steady, Future Ready
Publisher: Western Railways
251. Western Railways – 125 Years of a Timeless Legacy
Publisher: Western Railways
252. Samar Shome’s Diary
Author: Sanjoy Mookerjee
253. The Lines of Prosperity
Author: Rajendra Aklekar
254. Indian Railways Acts & Rules 1849-1895
Author: Indumati Kalker
255. The Great Indian Railways Through Philately
Author: Mohd. Mujibullah
256. Platform Ticket: The Untold Stories of People Who Make Train Travel Possible
Author: Sangeetha Vallat
257. 30 December 1996: Fakiragram (Kokrajhar) Train Bombings
Author: Rituraj Basumatary
258. India By Rail & Road (Kindle Edition)
Author: Steve Kaffen
259. Vande Bharat: Connecting Dreams Swiftly
Author: Rayan Musk
260. India By Rail: A Journey from Kashmir to Kanyakumari (Kindle Edition)
Author: Nourin Khan
261. Palace On Wheels Tour
Author: Mamata Ghosh
262. Train, Tracks, & Tales: An Anthology of Train Narratives
Author: Bibin Sebastian & George Sebastian
So, there goes my list of 262 popular and most-read Indian Railways books. How many have you read till now? How many are you planning to order? Is there any book that I have missed out on? Please do let me know in the comments below. Also, check out my other post on the 25 most popular books to explore India.
Lastly, check out my travelogue on a short trip to Jolarpettai on the inaugural Mysore – Chennai Vande Bharat Express.
Disclaimer: The above list is only a compilation of books on Indian Railways available online for purchase. It is not a review list or a sponsored post. Also, this list doesn’t include books available for sale at the National Rail Museum, Regional Rail Museums, and other coffee table books released monthly/quarterly/yearly by zonal railways.
Note: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This post was last updated on 25th May 2025.
