Chug into the Railways

Who hasn’t travelled on a train in India without feeling a sense of awe at the enormity of a system that connects places and people with an efficiency not normally associated with things Indian. If one were to be further informed that this is the second largest system in the world under one management, and that it carries 13 million passengers and 2 million tonnes of freight every day through over 63,000 route kilometres and more than 7,000 stations, it would reinforce this feeling.

Indian Railways is the artery of India’s growth and existence. People from Dimapur in Nagaland in the Far East can travel to Amritsar in the North-West, while pilgrims from Kanyakumari at the southern most tip of India can pray at the Amarnath shrine in the Himalayas. Across India’s plains and mountains, all people and every component of the country’s economy from steel to cement and from fertilisers to foodgrains are carried by the railways. It is truly, the nation’s lifeline.

This vast infrastructure needs professionals to ensure its smooth and efficient working. The railways employ 15 lakh employees, of whom about 35,000 are management personnel. There are, therefore, opportunities for a range of professionals from the administrative and financial spheres to engineering, medical, teaching and computers.

Tracks of work

The railway services cover various functions of this vast enterprise. There are 10 services of the Railways, non-technical, and technical.

The main non-technical services include:

The Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) looks after transportation and commercial matters of the railways. The IRTS comprises two functional divisions, the commercial division which includes ticket issuing, checking, railway administration and management, etc. and the operations division, which controls the movement of trains.

The Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) handles the accounting and finance section of the railways.

The Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) is responsible for the recruitment of all railway staff, promotions, postings, training, welfare activities, and so on.

The Railway Protection/Service Railway Protection Force (RPF) assists the government railway police functioning under the state governments in the handling of law and order and crime on Indian Railways.

Training is imparted at Railway Staff College, Baroda.

Engineering route

The Railway Engineering Services include:

The Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE) is wholly in charge of management and planning, construction and maintenance of railway tracks, bridges and buildings. Selected candidates are trained at Railway Staff College, Baroda, and at the Indian Railways Institute of Civil Engineering, Pune.

The Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE) looks after the electrification of railways, maintenance of electrical locomotives, coaches and allied activities. Training is provided at the Railway Staff College, Baroda and at the Indian Railways Institute of Electrical Engineering, Nasik.

The Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME) is in charge of maintenance, running and overhaul of diesel locomotives and also the maintenance of railway wagons and goods carriages. Officers on probation receive training at Railway Staff College, Baroda, and at the Indian Railway Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Jamalpur.

The Indian Railways Service of Signal and Telecom Engineers (IRSSE) has the responsibility for the maintenance and operation of all signals on the railways and operation of telecommunications on the railways.

The Indian Railways Stores Service (IRSS) looks after the purchase, warehousing and disposal of all material and stores of the railways.

Apart from these services, there is also the Indian Railways Medical Service, which employs doctors for the in-house medical facilities of the Railways.

Getting in

The Combined Civil Services Examination of the UPSC held as part of the Indian Civil Service and allied examination, is the main criterion for entry into the non- technical railway services. These include the Indian Railway Traffic Service Group A (IRTS), the Indian Railway Accounts Service Group A (IRAS), the Indian Railway Personnel Service Group A (IRPS), the Indian Railway Protection Force Group A (IRPF), and the Railway Board Secretariat Service Group B (Section Officer's Grade). This means that you have to be between 21 and 30 years of age as on August 1 of the year of the examination, and must have at least a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university.

There is a separate Combined Engineering Services Examination for recruitment as officers for the technical Railway Services such as the Indian Railway Service of Engineers (Civil), the Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers, the Indian Railway Service of Signal and Telecommunication Engineers, the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers and the Indian Railway Stores Service.

A separate examination is conducted for the recruitment of officers in the service of Mechanical Engineers, called the Special Class Railway Apprentices. These candidates are selected at the pre-graduate level (plus two with maths and physics) and have to undergo practical and theoretical training given by the railways at the Indian Railway Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers, Jamalpur. At the end of the 4-year programme, candidates are awarded a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Recruitment to all but the Special Class of Railway Apprentices, is for graduates between 21-28 years of age through examinations conducted by the UPSC. Application forms appear in all daily newspapers.

For the cadres recruited through the CCSE, no particular discipline is required for the Bachelor's degree. Those appearing for engineering services must possess an engineering degree or its equivalent.

Training talk

Initially, all railway officers are appointed on probation for a period of 2-3 years, during which they undergo training. The non-technical cadres are appointed on probation for three years, of which 18 months are on training and the balance on a working post. At the end of this period, the officers have to go through a posting examination before they are confirmed and posted. The bulk of the training is controlled by the Railways Staff College.

If you are selected to the railway engineering services you will be put on probation for three years, of which 18 months are in training and the rest in a working post. At the end of the third year, probationers must pass the final examination, both practical and theoretical to be confirmed.

There is a four-year Apprenticeship for those recruited under the Special Class Railway Apprenticeship Scheme for Mechanical engineers. This Apprenticeship is interspersed every six months with workshop training. Periodic examinations are held to evaluate progress. At the end of the four-year period, a degree in mechanical engineering is awarded. After this, the candidate is treated on a par with those recruited directly and goes through the same probation.

As with the other government services, the railways offer a secure and meaningful career. All officers of the railways are paid according to the salary grades fixed by the Government of India and follow the pattern of other civil services.

In addition, you are entitled to benefits and facilities such as healthcare, educational facilities for the children of employees and free railway passes for officers. The railways run their own hospitals, dispensaries and healthcare units which are open to all railway employees. Officers rise to the level of Secretaries to the Government of India.

As the railways modernise, adding new routes, converting narrow and metre gauge to broad, electrifying new lines and computerising operating systems, there will continue to be a demand for all categories of personnel with skills to meet the challenges of the future.

The writer is a noted career expert