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Group A services - Should or should not prepare for the

Examination
Author : admin

There are four groups of services in Indian Railways namely Group A, B, C & D in descending
order of hierarchy. In this chapter Group A service is talked upon

Group A services

This is the most sought after service. This group is responsible for the overall administrative,
technical and managerial function associated with the Rail transport. The recruitment is through
UPSC involving written examination and interview. There are two examination system for entry
in Railways namely 1. IAS and allied services 2. Indian Engineering Services

IAS allied services

This examination is conducted by UPSC. This is the most prestigious Govt. Services in India.
This examination is for large numbers of Govt. Services and priority generally given by
candidates are IAS (Indian Administrative Services), IPS (Indian Police Service), IFS (Indian
Foreign Services) , IRS ( Indian Revenue Services) , IRTS ( Indian Railway Traffic Services) ,
IRAS (Indian Railway Account Services) , IRPS (Indian Railway Personal Services) etc. Indian
Railway commands a reasonable priority position of choice. The role and responsibilities
attached to different Railway services are as follows:

Indian Railway Traffic Services (IRTS):

There are mainly two streams of this cadre namely operation and commercial. One of the function of this

is public interfaces. The Traffic Department is responsible for the operation and running of trains. The cadre

cadre

the Guard, Station Master, Controllers, administrative control of loco pilots at HQ / Board level, etc. are under its

of

control. The department is responsible for utilization of fixed and rolling infrastructure. The commercial department

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is responsible for revenue collection, marketing, passenger interface, publicity, catering, etc. and Ticket Collector,

Ticket sale, Reservation Clerk, Parcel and booking of freight under its control. This cadre commands a respectable

position in the Indian Railway system because of the public interface, the responsibility of running of trains,

attachment and movement of special coaches such as marriage, inspection carriages etc, release of emergency

quota for train reservation ticket etc.

The cadre commands respect in all areas of decision making connecting with rail transport. An

officer selected for engineering services and if gets qualified for IRTS, prefers to join this

service. In earlier days, the designation was superintendence like Divisional operation Superintendent

with designation as Divisional Operation Manger etc. Power is

which later changed to managerial cadre

always associated with responsibility therefore this is a 24x7 hour on the toe cadre. The cadre is one of the oldest

cadre in Indian Railways and having a long list of distinguished officers who have contributed much in the

development of Railways and strong fraternity.

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The highest position is Member(Traffic) equivalent to Ex-Officio Secretary to GOI for which IRTS
officer is only entitled to occupy the position.

Indian Railway Personal Service (IRPS):

This cadre is responsible for the management and development of human resource. The
modern management has changed the function to Human Resource (HR) etc. where as in
Railways the function is still continuing as Personal Department. This service came into being in
the year 1980 when human resource was considered as a specialized function. Earlier officer
from other cadres were drafted and posted as a Personal Officer in the Division as well as in the
Head Quarter. Human force works in different places and directly under the control of executive
therefore, the real function of human resource development is primarily the responsibility of an
executive department. The cadre is responsible for assessment of manpower need, recruitment,
selection, promotion, training, payment, service records, vacancy assessment, negotiation
with recognized labor unions, ensuring implementation of factory act, labor laws etc. Priority for
this service is generally low unless a candidate has a specific passion for this type of profession.
Power is less so is the responsibility and can have comfortable weekly off.

Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS):

The IRAS cadre of Indian Railways is responsible for the Finance and Accounting functions of
the Railways. Core functions of this cadre include maintenance of accounts of Indian Railways
and Financial Advice to the executive. At the zonal level, IRAS officers are designated as a
Financial Adviser and Chief Account Officers while at the Division level, they are Divisional
Finance Managers. Budget Management, Expenditure Control, Earnings Accountal, Financial
scrutiny of various executive proposals are some of the functions performed by IRAS officers.
Every expenditure in Indian Railways has to pass through Financial scrutiny. The IRAS cadre
exercises substantial control over the affairs of the Indian Railway executives and therefore,
derive power in its function and not much of the responsibility of 24x7 hours functioning and on
toes management. The cadre came into being 1930 and having a very long list of fraternity to
be proud of.

Till 80's the cadre at the Division and HQ was not under the control of top management,
i.e. Divisional Railway Manager or General Manger and executives are only running around to
get their job done. Later on Account officers brought under the control of DRMs and GMs and
the functioning changed in the interest of Railways. The priority for options to this cadre is also
in line with IRTS.

Engineering Service Examination (ESE)

UPSC holds examination for all Group A services of Engineering of all Central Govt.
Department like Railways, CPWD, Military Engineering Services, Defense Production etc. of
which Indian Railways command the first priority in all streams of engineering functions like
Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Electronics and Communication etc. There are basically five
engineering cadres recruited through UPSC for Railways namely Indian Railway Service of
Engineers, Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers, Indian Railway Service of Electrical

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Engineers, Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers, Indian Railway Stores Service.

Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE):

Formation and laying of track is the first job for any railway to start and therefore Civil
Engineering is first engineering to begin with and therefore, it is called Engineering Department
with assigning Civil along with it. The cadre is responsible for track and its formation, bridges,
buildings, in-charge for all the land occupied by the Railways, water supply, etc. and occupies
the prominent position in Railways. The cadre finds it root right from the inception
of Railways therefore had very strong fraternity of maximum number of officers at any time.
The cadre is having very strong say in all matters pertaining to Railway functioning. The cadre
commands power because it owns responsibility for maximum value of assets and also
the responsibility requiring 24x7 hours duty with all the time on toes. There are a large number
of Railways PSUs which gets its officer requirement from Indian Railways
which offer opportunity of working in different type of environment. Head of most of the PSUs
are officers from this cadre and has strong fraternity. Mr. S Shreedharan belongs to this cadre
who retired as Member Engineering, the topmost post of engineering cadre in Railways before
joining Konkan Railways and DMRC.

Signal and Telecommunication department was under Member/Engineering prior to

its separation and coming under Member Electrical. This was for the reason that function of
signalling and engineering depart goes together at ground level but with modern signalling it
was thought otherwise.

Joining Engineering cadre is like a dream coming true for every Civil Engineers.

There were 43 post advertised in the year 2012 of which 6 posts reserved for Differently Able

Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers(IRSME) and Special Class Railway Apprentice (SCRA):

A train consists of an engine and coaches/wagon to transport passenger and freight.

Mechanical department is responsible for locomotive, coaches and wagon for manufacturing,
maintenance sheds and workshop. It is also one of the oldest department of Indian Railways.
There are two groups in Mechanical Cadre namely Special Class Railway Apprentice (SCRA)
and IRSME. In case of SCRA, recruitment is though UPSC but with educational qualification of
class XII with science and then training and providing degree in Mechanical Engineering from
some affiliated institute presently (BIT/Mesra). There is no purpose to continue with SCRA but
for strong SCRA fraternity in Indian Railways. As regards IRSME it is similar to any other
engineering service. The cadre is headed by Member/Mechanical in Railway Board.

IRSME cadre is responsible for manufacturing of Diesel locomotive(DLW), Coaches (ICF, RCF,
Rai-bareily factory), maintenance of rolling assets at shed and workshop etc. There are
two specialized functions i.e. Diesel Locomotive and other coaches and wagon. Chemical
and Metallurgy is small department in Indian Railways responsible for chemical and
metallurgical testing of material and is under the Mechanical Department Similarly, stores
department which is a direct cadre from UPSC is also placed under Member/Mechanical

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A young student preparing for IIT examination and if has the capability to qualify, can as well
qualify SCRA examination. The advantage is getting a stipend for years which otherwise you
would have spent in any engineering college beside other benefits of free travel, medical etc.
beside getting a degree from a recognized institute. The other major advantage is that of getting
entry at the minimum age and thus benefit of rising to highest level in the hierarchy.

Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE)

IRSEE was a small cadre and was under Member/Mechanical till 1987 and, afterwards, under
Member/Electrical who is from the cadre of IRSEE. Till the time of Steam Traction, role of
Electrical department was limited to electricity supply to railway establishment, railway station
and train lighting and air conditioning and what ever little traction of about 500 RKM existing up
to 50's. With the introduction of Diesel and Electric locomotive the scenario started changing
with the Mechanical department responsible for Diesel Locomotive and
Electrical Department responsible for Electric Locomotive. This led to departmental-ism and
upmanship to prove benefit of one traction over another. There is no difference in two
locomotives except its source of powering i.e. Diesel engine or directly drawing power from
overhead power. India is a net importer of crude price, there is an obvious reason for electric
traction to be economical therefore, it started progressively introduced with all resistance
possible and Electrical department making its position. Then came the important day when it
was decided to create the post of Member electrical to look after the affairs of
electrical department along with Signal and Telecommunication department. Now Electrical and
S&T departments are playing an important role of a major department and playing an important
role of bringing new technologies to improve transportation system. Air conditioning is also
growing along with growth in the country and the day is not far when 60-70% coaches will be air
conditioned.

There are basically three specialized functions namely Electrical Locomotive/EMU Maintenance
and Operation, Traction Distribution, Train Lighting and Air-Conditioning, General Services,
Locomotive Manufacturing, Railway Electrification, Maintenance Sheds and Shops, Power
Generation and use of renewable sources of energy where the role of the Electrical functioning
growing day by day.

This is 24x7 hours a week service with the cadre officer remaining on his toes all the time to
deliver trouble free running of trains.

There were 57 post advertised in the year 2012 of which 08 posts reserved for Differently Able

Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineer(IRSSE):

Signalling is an important aspect of train operation. The permission for a train to start and stop
for safe working is controlled through a logical signalling system. The signalling system
was mechanical to begin with, but advancement of electrical and electronics system introduced

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Panel Interlocking, Root relay interlocking, Automatic Signalling system and many other
developments in the field of signalling to increase sectional capacity.
Similarly telecommunication, train communication, automation in passenger amenities
is advancing every day with new features. This has placed immense responsibility on S&T
engineers. Presently S&T department is under Member Electrical with two Additional Members
one each of Signal and Telecommunication at Board level. The cadre does not have an option
to rise to level of Member/Electrical

This is 24x7 hours a week service with the cadre officers remaining on his toes all the time.

There were 48 post advertised in the year 2012 of which 07 posts reserved for Differently Able

Indian Railway Stores Services (IRSS)

Indian Railways were a technological giant organization up to 50's and most of the
manufacturing of major equipment like coaches, wagon, locomotive etc. and
its components were shop-manufactured. With the advancement of technologies
and specialized subject of procurement and its storage, it was decided to create
a separate organization under Member/Mechanical for procurement and material management
of stores. This service is open to all the cadres such as Engineering, Mechanical, S&T
and Electrical. Normally this is second choice after the main cadre. The importance of service
lies in the fact that there is hardly any item not purchased by the Railways and therefore, the
cadre acquires tremendous experience of procurement and its complexities. The job pressure is
less and generally limited to office hours. For this reason, many are opting this as a first
option. The cadre provides opportunities to rise in all levels of professional ad
general management like DRM/GM except for the highest post of Member/Mechanical.

Vacancies are distributed to ESE of main branches and for the Year 2012 it was as follows:

Civil: 11, Mech: 10,

The Indian Railway Protection Force (IRPF)

This service was formed in the year 1954. The cadre is

Responsible for protection of Railway property.

Assist the state police in maintenance of law and order in various states at the time of
elections and other emergencies.
Coordinates with the civil police and GRP (Government Railway police of the respective
states) in controlling crime
The cadre controlling authority is the Director General, RPF.
Cadre size: 287 posts (direct recruitment – 50%, promotion – 40%, Lateral Entry – 10%).

The cadre is not involved directly in the running of train services except its security watch-dog,
therefore not entitled for managerial posts such as DRM/GM.

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Indian Railway Medical Services

The Indian Railway Medical Service (IRMS) is an organized Group 'A' service. The officers of
this service are responsible for providing comprehensive health care to the serving railway
employees, retired railway employees and their dependents as well as other categories of staff
such as contractors, vendors and licensed porters. In 80's, the service was Group b service but
later on included as Group A service. With many of the up-gradation that came subsequently,
the promotion prospect is now almost at par with other organised Group A services. The officer
from this cadre does not have any direct role in train operation therefore, not considered for Ex-
cadre managerial posts of DRM/GM.

Railway hospitals are equipped with excellent infrastructure for Railway doctors to excel in their
field, higher education and respectful living in Railway environment.

General

There was a time up to 80's when there were three major departments namely Traffic,
Engineering ad Mechanical and all Managerial (DRM and GM) and Member posts were manned
by these cadre officials only. Situation changed and quota for each department, depending
upon the staff strength in the respective department, is now introduced for posting as DRM
giving opportunity to all the cadres except security/medical to show their excellence
in management as well. All barriers were also removed for posting as GM which is now based
on integrated seniority giving equal opportunities to officers of all cadres except
security/medical. The important effect of this change was the development of the feeling of
Railway-man-ship in all the cadres.

The top post is Chairman Railway Board and only one officer of two batches get the opportunity
and read more how the different cadre dominated this
post. http://www.railelectrica.com/indian-railways/chairman-railway-board-tenure-and-cadre/

There is only one thing which sometimes is a cause for heart burning when the officer of same
batch gets promotion in one cadre but not in another cadre and this difference sometime goes
up to two years. There is hope that this aspect of the cadre will be taken care one day.

If you are looking to join Indian Railways, this is best organized in Govt. sector for many
challenging options.

Salary growth of Class I Officer (CSE Allied and ESE)

What is my salary and how it will grow is the most important burning question in every aspirant
having intention to prepare for the examination. The salary you get in the first three years is as
follows:

Ist Year: Basic 15600/-, Grade Pay 5400/- DA 90% (increased to 100%) 18900/-, TPT/G 3040 =
Rs. 42940/-
Second Year: Basic 16880/-, Grade Pay 5400/- DA 90% (increased to 100%) 20052/-, TPT/G

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3040 = Rs. 43817/-

Third Year: Basic 16230/-, Grade Pay 5400/- DA 90% (increased to 100%) 1890019467/-,
TPT/G 3040 = Rs.45372/-

It may not be possible to predict your salary in future but one can certainly show the salary
growth of a Class I officer joining in 1977 and superannuation in 2013. The same is as follows:

Indian Railways provide great opportunities and one should decide

Why you should decide to join it

1. Job satisfaction
2. Genuine opportunity to serve
3. To be part of such a large system which people from outside wonders how it works
4. There is no field of Engineering or Management which get untouched providing you an
opportunity to excel in the field of your liking and competency
5. A salary graph of you and your colleague is similar, and therefore, there is no
competition of comparing packages – mental satisfaction ( uski kamij bhi mera jaisee hi
sunder hai)
6. You are different as compared to business or private or PSU job.
7. Respect in the society and friend circle
a. You can help in getting emergency quota
b. Large number of Engineers joining Railways had earlier worked in PSUs at
double the package still preferred to join Railways, check from them. It is higher
rating of Railways job in the society.

8. Support of very large fraternity and network of Railway man ready to support you and your family in adverse situation

9. You and your family feel homely and safe in any part of the country in Railway area

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10. You had an opportunity for higher studies like a post graduation / PhD in India or abroad

11. A mediocre officer also gets his promotion at the same pace as that of others in his batch. You have the opportunity to excel because of deep desire and not for out of turn promotion. It makes a difference of positivity of the energy level in you.

12. Even though you are tied with one organization for the entire 30-38 years of active career still you can find your boss and place of posting changing almost every two years.

13. Job security even if you are mediocre, medical problem etc.

Why you should not join

1. If you have the desire to earn more money and even ready to compromise conduct
rules, you may be successful one or two times, but if caught, the remaining life will be
miserable
2. If you are confident about your ability and desire to fly and want to attain heights in your
field with out-of-turn promotions
3. In Govt. Organization and Railways no exception, a group of officers get promotion in
one go, and if you are unlucky and left behind, life will be miserable afterwards. In
private organization, if one excels and gets out of turn promotion, balance remains
where they are, and if you are one of them, no pain. You can leave the organization if
felt hurt or humiliated. It is not so easy to leave Govt. Organization when you are used
to its working and may find difficult to adjust in working with Private organisation.
4. No one likes boss but when you don’t know how to manage boss and difficulty in
adjusting with the boss
5. Frequent transfer and disturbance in children's education. Unable to get their admission
in the school/college of your liking due to place of posting which may be in small town.
6. Spouse working and no suitable job for her/him at the place of your posting resulting
into separate living
7. You own your own house and strong desire to live in that house only
8. You possess exceptional personal capabilities to succeed. In Govt. or Railway
organisation, you succeed to achieve when hold position in the organisation.
9. When you want to work actively for up to 80 years of age with a purpose

Remember, if you decide to join Group A services of Indian Railways or that matter any
other services, decide when you are in last but one year so that you enter at the
minimum age and will have the opportunity to rise to the top. This will give you an
opportunity to rise to the top.

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