Indian Railways is struggling to hire enough technical staff under the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS), a program started by the government in 2019. Although the IRMS was designed to bring together various railway services, the number of new officers joining remains low because the first batch is still in training.
In 2022, Indian Railways asked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to recruit 150 people for IRMS. However, only 130 were selected, and out of those, around 40 began their training at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie. The others took extraordinary leave (EOL) to prepare for other exams without receiving a salary. Those in training are now in their final phase at a railway institute in Lucknow.
The 2023 recruitment was also disappointing. Railways again requested 150 people, but only 84 were selected, making the staff shortage in various zones worse.
To deal with this problem, Indian Railways has started hiring retired junior officers as consultants until December 2026. These consultants will help keep railway services running smoothly and will leave once new recruits from UPSC or other internal selections are ready.
There are also reports that some IRMS trainees have raised concerns with the Railway Board, especially due to rumors that the Railways might split the services back into technical and non-technical branches. This uncertainty is adding to the overall staffing challenges.
