Railways Undertakes Recruitment for 1.62 Lakh Posts Under Annual Calendar: Vaishnaw
New Delhi, July 29 (TNT): The Railways has initiated recruitment for 1,61,889 non-gazetted posts, including 11,387 vacancies in Southern Railway, under the Annual Recruitment Calendars for 2024, 2025 and 2026, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
In a written reply, Vaishnaw said recruitment on Indian Railways is a continuous process, with vacancies being filled based on operational and technological requirements through the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs).
He said the ministry introduced an Annual Recruitment Calendar from 2024 to provide greater certainty in recruitment, offer annual opportunities to eligible candidates and expedite the recruitment, training and appointment process.
According to the minister, 10 Centralised Employment Notifications (CENs) covering 92,116 vacancies, including 6,927 posts in Southern Railway, were issued during January-December 2024 for posts such as Assistant Loco Pilots (ALPs), Technicians, Junior Engineers, Railway Protection Force personnel, Paramedical staff, Non-Technical Popular Categories, Ministerial and Isolated Categories, and Level-1 posts.
Vaishnaw said that during 2026-27 (up to June 30, 2026), panels for more than 3,300 candidates had been finalised for various posts, including Technicians, Junior Engineers, Assistant Loco Pilots, Paramedical and Ministerial categories, with a majority of appointments relating to safety categories.
He said that under the 2025 Annual Calendar, the Railways issued nine recruitment notifications for 51,970 vacancies, including 3,412 posts in Southern Railway, while under the 2026 Annual Calendar, three notifications have been issued for 17,803 vacancies, including 1,048 posts in Southern Railway.
The minister said RRB examinations involve large-scale mobilisation of manpower and resources and are conducted in a transparent manner in accordance with prescribed guidelines.
TNT TS
