**Executive Summary**
This report outlines the Ministry of Railways' recruitment progress, noting 43,230 recruitments completed in the 2025-26 fiscal year across various technical and safety categories. It highlights the transition to an Annual Recruitment Calendar starting in 2024 to provide exam certainty and the notification of 11,127 fresh Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP) vacancies in March 2026. Additionally, the document details infrastructure improvements for staff welfare, including the installation of waterless urinals in over 2,800 locomotives.
**Key Points / Main Content**
**Recruitment Statistics and Timeline**
* **Current Progress:** 43,230 recruitments have been completed in the 2025-26 fiscal year to date.
* **Historical Growth:** Total recruitments rose from 4.11 lakh (2004-2014) to 5.08 lakh (2014-2025).
* **ALP Notifications:** 18,799 vacancies were notified in 2024 (15,873 empanelled), 9,970 in 2025 (CBT stage 1 completed), and 11,127 in March 2026.
* **Large-Scale Exams:** In 2024, Computer Based Tests (CBTs) were conducted for 92,116 posts, involving over 3.58 crore candidates across 15 languages.
**Systemic Improvements**
* **Annual Calendar:** Introduced in 2024 for Group ‘C’ posts to ensure regular recruitment, faster training, and timely appointments.
* **Transparency:** Examinations are conducted following strict guidelines to prevent paper leakages or malpractices.
* **Notification Volume:** Ten Centralized Employment Notifications (CENs) were issued in 2024, followed by nine CENs for 50,970 vacancies in 2025.
**Staff Welfare and Infrastructure**
* **Loco Pilot Working Conditions:** To improve environmental and working conditions, more than 2,800 locomotives have been equipped with waterless urinals as of February 28, 2026.
* **Safety Categories:** The majority of finalized panels for over 43,000 candidates are focused on critical safety roles.
**Impact Analysis**
**Aspirants and Candidates**
**Impact**
Candidates benefit from increased transparency, a predictable examination schedule via the Annual Calendar, and frequent opportunities for those becoming eligible each year.
**Action Required**
Aspirants must monitor the Annual Calendar for specific notification months (e.g., March, June, October) and prepare for multi-stage CBTs and aptitude tests.
**Ministry of Railways / Recruitment Agencies**
**Impact**
The Ministry ensures a continuous supply of manpower to meet technological and operational changes while maintaining a transparent recruitment process.
**Action Required**
Agencies must continue placing indents based on operational requirements and adhere to the published Annual Calendar for issuing notifications and conducting tests.
**Loco Pilots**
**Impact**
Current and future Loco Pilots experience improved on-the-job working conditions through the phased provision of waterless urinals in locomotives.
**Action Required**
No specific action is mentioned for this group, other than benefitting from the ongoing infrastructure upgrades and regularized staff recruitment to manage vacancy positions.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Railways: The primary government body responsible for the management, recruitment, and infrastructure development of the Indian Railways.
Annual Calendar: A system introduced in 2024 to streamline recruitment for Group ‘C’ posts, providing a scheduled timeline for exams and appointments.
Railway Recruitment Board (RRB): The agency responsible for conducting technical examinations and mobilizing resources for large-scale recruitment in the Indian Railways.
Centralized Employment Notifications (CENs): The official formal notices issued to announce vacancies and initiate the recruitment process for various railway cadres.
Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw: The Union Minister for Railways who presented the data on recruitment and locomotive improvements to the Rajya Sabha.
Ministry of Railways
43,230 Recruitments Done in Indian Railways till
date in Current Fiscal under Various Categories
Categories Include Technicians, Junior Engineers,
Paramedical Categories, Sub-Inspectors & Constable (RPF)
and Assistant Loco Pilots, Boosting Employment
15,873 Candidates Empanelled for Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP)
Vacancies Notified in 2024
First Stage Computer Based Tests Completed in 9970 ALP
Vacancies Notified in 2025; 11,127 Fresh ALP Vacancies
Notified in 2026
Over 2,800 Locomotives Equipped with Waterless Urinals,
Providing Better Working Conditions for Loco Pilots
Posted On: 27 MAR 2026 5:30PM by PIB Delhi
Loco Pilots are important members of Indian Railway family who play pivotal role for moving passenger
and goods traffic in safe and efficient manner. Indian Railways is committed to ensure proper working
conditions for loco pilots. Indian Railways recruit Assistant Loco Pilots on a regular basis considering the
vacancy position. Keeping in view train operation and retirement of staff, new positions are opened up for
recruitment.
Year Details regarding recruitment for the post of Assistant Loco Pilots
2024 18,799 vacancies were notified. Selection process already completed and 15,873
candidates empanelled till date.
2025 9,970 vacancies were notified; First stage Computer Based Tests (CBTs) have been
completed.
2026 11,127 vacancies as per Annual Calendar 2026 have been notified in March 2026.Recruitment done in Indian Railways during 2004-05 to 2013-14 vis-à-vis during 2014-15 to 2025-26 is
given as under: -
Period Recruitments
2004-2005 to 2013-2014 4.11 lakh
2014-2015 to 2024-2025 5.08 lakh
2025-26 - till date 43,230
Occurrence and filling up of vacancies are continuous processes on Indian Railways considering its size,
spatial distribution and criticality of operation. Adequate and suitable manpower is provided to cater to
the regular operations, changes in technology, mechanisations and innovative practices. The vacancies are
filled up primarily by placement of indents by Railways with Recruitment agencies as per operational and
technological requirements.
The RRB examinations are quite technical in nature entailing large scale mobilization of men and
resources and training of manpower. Railway overcame all these challenges and successfully conducted
the recruitment in a transparent manner following all laid down guidelines. No instance of paper leakage
or similar malpractice has occurred during the entire process.
Further, as system improvement, the Ministry of Railways has introduced a system of publishing the
Annual Calendar from 2024 for recruitment to various categories of Group ‘C’ posts. The introduction of
the Annual Calendar is benefitting the aspirants in the following manner:
More opportunities for candidates;
Opportunities to those becoming eligible every year;
Certainty of exams;
Faster Recruitment process, Training and Appointments
Presently, recruitment against 1,54,213 vacancies of non-gazetted personnel has been taken up on Indian
Railways as per Annual Calendar 2024, 2025 and 2026.
During January to December 2024, ten Centralized Employment Notifications (CENs) for 92,116
vacancies were notified for filling up of posts of Assistant Loco Pilots (ALPs), Technicians, Sub-
Inspectors, Constables in Railway Protection Force (RPF), Junior Engineers (JEs)/ Depot Material
Superintendent (DMS)/ Chemical & Metallurgical Assistant (CMA), Paramedical Categories, Non-
Technical Popular Categories (Graduate), Non-Technical Popular Categories (Under-Graduate),
Ministerial & Isolated Categories and Level-1 categories such as Assistants, Track Maintainers and
Pointsman.
First Stage/Single stage Computer Based Tests (CBTs) for 92,116 posts have been completed. Details are
as under: -
Exam Candidates Cities Languages1st Stage CBT for the post of ALP (18,799 vacancies) 18,40,347 156 15
CBT for the post of Technician (14,298 vacancies) 26,99,892 139 15
1st Stage CBT for the post of JE/DMS/CMA 11,01,266 146 15
(7,951 vacancies)
CBT for the post of RPF-SI (452 vacancies) 15,35,635 143 15
CBT for the post of RPF-Constable (4,208 vacancies) 45,30,288 147 15
CBT for Paramedical Categories (1,376 vacancies) 7,08,321 143 15
1st Stage CBT for Non-Technical Popular Categories 58,41,774 141 15
(Graduate) (8,113 vacancies)
1st Stage CBT for Non-Technical Popular Categories 63,27,473 157 15
(Under Graduate) (3,445 vacancies)
CBT for Ministerial & Isolated categories 4,46,013 139 15
(1,036 vacancies)
CBT for level-1 posts (32438 vacancies) 1,08,28,261 152 15
Total Candidates 3,58,59,270
2nd stage CBTs for the posts of ALP, JE/DMS/CMA and Non-Technical Popular Categories (Graduate &
Under-Graduate) have also been completed. Details are as under: -
Exam Candidates Cities Languages
2nd Stage CBT for the post of ALP (18,799 vacancies) 2,66,363 112 15
2nd Stage CBT for the post of JE/DMS/CMA 1,17,339 118 15
(7,951 vacancies)
2nd Stage CBT for Non-Technical Popular Categories 1,21,931 129 15
(Graduate) (8,113 vacancies)
2nd Stage CBT for Non-Technical Popular Categories (Under- 51,978 79 15
Graduate) (3,445 vacancies)Total Candidates 5,57,611
Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBAT) for the post of ALP and Non-Technical Popular Categories
(Graduate) and Computer based Skill Test for the post of Non-Technical Popular Categories (Graduate
and Under Graduate) and Ministerial & Isolated Categories have also been completed. Details are as
under: -
Exam Candidates Cities Languages
CBAT for the post of ALP 1,32,044 84 2
Translation Test for Ministerial and Isolated 1,233 8 2
Categories
CBAT for the post of Non-Technical Popular 13,616 38 2
Categories (Graduate)
Computer Based Typing Skill Test (CBTST) for the post of 30,341 58 2
Non-Technical Popular Categories
(Graduate-level)
Computer Based Typing Skill Test (CBTST) for the post of 13,145 44 2
Non-Technical Popular
Categories (Under-Graduate-level)
Total Candidates 1,90,379
Panels for more than 43,000 candidates for various posts including the posts of Technicians, Junior
Engineers, Paramedical Categories, Sub-Inspectors & Constable (RPF) and Assistant Loco Pilots have
been finalised. Majority of them are in safety categories.
In addition, as per Annual Calendar for the year 2025, nine Centralized Employment Notifications
(CENs) for 50,970 vacancies have also been issued. Details are as under:
CEN No. Post Name No. of Month
Vacancies
of Notification
notified
01/2025 Assistant Loco Pilots 9,970 March 2025
02/2025 Technician 6,238 June 202503/2025 Paramedical categories 434 July 2025
04/2025 Section Controller 368 August 2025
05/2025 Junior Engineer (JE)/ Depot Material 2,585 October 2025
Superintendent/Chemical &
Metallurgical Assistant
06/2025 Non-Technical Popular 5,810 October 2025
Categories (Graduate)
Non-Technical Popular 3,058 October 2025
07/2025
Categories (Under-Graduate)
08/2025 Isolated Categories 312 December
2025
09/2025 Level-1 posts 22,195 December
2025
Total 50,970
First stage/Single stage Computer Based Tests (CBTs) for 19,595 posts have been completed. Details are
as under: -
Exam Candidates Cities Languages
1st Stage CBT for the post of ALP (9970 vacancies) 10,03,719 141 15
CBT for the post of Section Controller 4,33,748 131 15
(368 vacancies)
1st Stage CBT for the post of JE/DMS/CMA 5,74,351 133 15
(2585 vacancies)
CBT for the post of Technician (6238 vacancies) 8,41,525 117 15
CBT for the post of Paramedical Categories 3,19,396 106 15
(434 vacancies)Total Candidates 31,72,739
Waterless Urinals are being progressively provided in locomotives in a phased manner as per feasibility.
As on 28.02.2026, more than 2800 locomotives have been provided with Urinals.
This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and
Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a reply to questions in Rajya Sabha
today.
*****
Dharmendra Tewari/ Dr. Nayan Solanki/ Ritu Raj
(Release ID: 2246142) Visitor Counter : 533
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