The Railway Board has announced a significant change for officers recruited through the Civil Services Examination (CSE) in 2022, 2023, and 2024 for the Indian Railway Management Services (IRMS). Officers will now have the option to choose from three specific streams: Traffic, Accounts, and Personnel.
This decision follows a change in the recruitment pattern of officers for eight Group A services in 2019. The Railway Ministry’s Gazette notification on October 9, 2024, marks a return to the pre-2019 examination structure, which will be implemented starting in 2025.
Sub-Cadre Allocation for Recent Batches
According to a communication from the Railway Board to the Director General of the Indian Railway Institute of Transport Management (IRITM), probationers from the three recent batches will be allowed to opt for one of the three sub-cadres of IRMS. The DG of IRITM will oversee the allocation of these sub-cadres based on the options selected by the probationers upon joining the institute.
The letter further stated that from 2025, recruitment to the eight sub-cadres of IRMS will occur through both the CSE and the Engineering Services Examination (ESE), following amendments to the Recruitment Rules (RRs) of IRMS published in the Gazette.
This strategic shift is a result of the unification of the eight Group A services of the railways into a central service—IRMS—approved by the Union Cabinet in 2019 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prior to this change, recruitment for non-technical services such as the Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS), Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS), and Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) was conducted through the CSE, while technical services were recruited via the ESE.
This decision is expected to streamline the recruitment process and provide officers with more tailored career paths within the Indian Railways, enhancing overall operational efficiency.