Infrastructure
On February 19, 1986, Northern Railways was the first zone to introduce the computerized passenger reservation system and was the first zone to do so. To facilitate the Unreserved travellers to also plan their journey ahead, Northern Railway introduced the Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) whereby the unreserved rail passenger can purchase an unreserved ticket 3 days in advance from the current booking counters.
The first diesel and electric locomotive simulators in India at the Tughlaqabad and Kanpur locomotive sheds were introduced by Northern Railways. These help upgrading the skills of the working and new drivers, providing them training for high speed train operation. All workshops, Diesel sheds and Air brake freight depts. are ISO 9000 certified. Diesel shed, Tughlaqabad has the distinction of being the first diesel shed to get ISO 14000 certification on Indian Railway.
There are eight workshops operated by Northern Railways
| Workshop | Location | State |
|---|---|---|
| Locomotive Workshop | Charbagh Railway Station, Lucknow | Uttar Pradesh |
| Carriage & Wagon Workshop | Alambagh, Lucknow | Uttar Pradesh |
| Carriage & Wagon Workshop | Jagadhari Railway Station, Yamunanagar | Haryana |
| Carriage & Wagon Workshop | Kalka | Haryana |
| Bridge Workshop | Jalandhar Cantonment | Punjab |
| Bridge Workshop | Lucknow | Uttar Pradesh |
| Engineering workshop | Jalandhar | Punjab |
| Signal & Telecom Workshop | Ghaziabad | Uttar Pradesh |
Zonal Railway Training Institute (ZRTI) at Chandausi, Moradabad UP is the oldest (and North India's only) Railway Training Institute, where group C railway employees like Driver, Guard, Ticket Checker, Station Master, Traffic Inspector, Commercial Inspector, JE (signal & Telecom) etc. are trained for initial, promotional and refresher courses. ZRTI is an ISO 9001 Institute. Applicants pass All India Railway Examinations to get admission into the institute. ZRTI is headed by a senior Civil Services Officer.
Read more about this topic: Northern Railway Zone