Indian Railways is a state owned company, responsible for rail transport in India. It is owned and operated by the Government of India through the Ministry of Railways. It is one of the world's largest railway networks in the world and world's seventh largest commercial or utility employer, by number of employees, with over 1.376 million employees as of last published figures in 2013. Indian Railways were first introduced in the year 1853 from Mumbai to Thane. In 1951 the systems were nationalised as one unit, the Indian Railways.