The largest civilian employer in the world, the Indian railways employ nearly 1.5 million people. A career with the railways is both secure and rewarding as this is a recession proof sector with excellent growth prospects.

The Indian Railways have been divided into several zones for the purpose of administration. There are several divisions and departments under each zone. Each division has a certain number of technical and non-technical departments.

The technical departments require civil, mechanical, electrical and telecommunication engineers and other professionals. The non-technical departments deal with general services such as accounts, personal management, security and railway protection force (RPF).

Railway officers of the highest rank belong to Group ‘A’ whereas officers of the lowest rank belong to Group ‘D’.

Group A

The Group ‘A’ officers are recruited by UPSC. Recruitment to the Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) and the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) is done through the Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Recruitment to the Indian Railway services of Engineers (IRSE), Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE) and Indian Railway Services Stores (IRSS) is done through the Combined Engineering Service Examination. The UPSC also conducts a Special Class Railway Apprentices (SCRA) Exam annually. Approximately 50% of the vacancies in the Indian Railway Service Mechanical Department are filled through the SCRA Examination. The rest of the vacancies are filled through the Combined Engineering Service Examination.

Group B

There are no special examinations for the selection of Group B employees. Most of them are directly promoted from Group C.

Group C and Group D

Group C and Group D employees are recruited by the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs). There are 19 RRBs and they are entrusted with the duty of recruiting the required number of staffs for each zone. All Indian citizens having the specified qualification can apply for RRB examinations regardless of his/her language and region.

Training

The Indian Railways run six centralized training institutes for imparting training to the selected candidates.