Indian Railways designation schemes

Diesel Locomotive in 610 mm gauge executed Matheran Hill Railway , which can be used for passenger and freight trains, called NDM-2.

Broad gauge locomotive for heavy passenger traffic under the 25 kV AC contact line with the designation WAP-7 .

Broad gauge locomotive for freight trains under the DC contact line with the designation WCG1 in the Railway Museum in New Delhi

At Indian Railways , the vehicles are given a three- letter designation followed by a number. The letters indicate the track width , the type of drive and the use of the vehicle. The number is used to differentiate between the individual series that have the same letter designation. It usually follows with a hyphen after the letter name, which is sometimes omitted or replaced by a space. Likewise, the first two letters are often left out if the context shows which series is meant. In daily use, a WAP-7 often becomes a P7 .

Meaning of the letters

The individual letters have the following meanings:

First letter (gauge)

• W: Wide gauge = broad gauge
• Y: Yard Gauge = meter gauge
• Z: narrow gauge (2 ft 6 in , 610 mm)
• N: Narrow Gauge = narrow gauge

Second letter (type of drive)

• D: Diesel = diesel drive
• C: Direct Current = DC
• A: Alternating current = AC
• CA: DC and AC = for direct and alternating current
• B: Battery = battery drive

Third letter (insert)

• G: Goods = freight transport
• P: Passenger = passenger traffic
• M: Mixed = mixed operation, for freight and passenger traffic
• S: Shunting = shunting locomotive
• U: Multiple Units = railcars
• R: Railcars = rail bus

Web links

• Narrow Gauge Locomotives In India. Railway India, accessed March 13, 2016 . 
• Electric Locomotive Classes - AC. IRFCA, accessed on March 13, 2016 .