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What are the changes which have been introduced in Indian Railways Services?

What are the changes which have been introduced in Indian Railways Services?

Recently, the government has approved the restructuring of the Indian Railways, including a reduction in the Board strength as well as the merger of the different cadres into a central service called the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS).

What are the changes which have been introduced in Indian Railways Services?

Recently, the government has approved the restructuring of the Indian Railways, including a reduction in the Board strength as well as the merger of the different cadres into a central service called the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS). The Indian Railways is governed by a pool of officers, among whom engineers are recruited after the Indian Engineering Service Examination and civil servants through the Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC.

Before this reform, the civil servants were divided into the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) and Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS).The engineers were organized in five technical service cadres — Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE), Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME), Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE), Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE) and the Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS).

Now, all the employees at the management level will come into the Railways through one service the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS). A separate exam under the Union Public Service Commission is proposed to be instituted in 2021 to induct IRMS officers. The Railway Board now consist of five members Chairman, who will act as a CEO, along with four members responsible for infrastructure, operations and business development, rolling stock and finance.