NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Railways has decided to re-engage many retired employees against existing vacancies to meet emerging demands in train services, including fulfilling requirements in safety-critical areas.
According to a railway circular issued on June 20 to all zones, retired railway employees can now be re-engaged in vacant posts falling under pay levels 1 to 9.
“The retired non-gazetted employees will be hired on a contractual basis at lower levels for the time being and will be posted to the positions they previously held, where they possess relevant experience,” the circular said.
Any retired employee may apply to return to the position they held previously, it added.
The posts under pay levels 1 to 9 include those related to track maintenance, station masters, clerks, supervisors, and other roles directly or indirectly connected with the operation of train services.
The Railways has clarified that retired employees can also be temporarily re-engaged in posts falling under pay levels 1 and 4, as well as 5 and 1, provided they retired from a post in pay level 6. “But the Railways has decided to give priority to those who have retired from the same level and post is vacant in same level. In case, no retired employee is found, the employees retired from higher levels can also be considered,” said a source.
The ministry has empowered all divisional railway managers (DRMs) to hire retired employees for vacant posts in levels 1 to 9. The circular further stated that the decision regarding the re-engagement of retired non-gazetted employees in posts at the zonal level will be made by general managers (GMs).
The ministry has emphasised that the re-engagement of retired non-gazetted railway employees should only take place if there is a genuine need for filling vacant posts in various categories. “The re-engagement of experienced retired employees will certainly improve the functioning of railways and support the transporter for the time being in managing manpower requirements,” said a senior railway official.
The Railways further stated, “The powers to re-engage retired staff at HQ level for vacancies in the HQ will continue with GMs”. The ministry also advised caution.
“It is reiterated that any re-engagement should be done in exigency after due diligence and this modification will be effective from the date of issue of these instruction,” it said.
Meanwhile, the railway has stated that recruitment for vacant posts continues to be conducted through recruitment agencies. “We have done more than 5.02 lakh recruitments from 2014-15 to 2023-24 under various categories and recruitment is continuous process,” said a railway official, adding that 92,116 vacancies were notified between January and December 2024 for posts such as assistant loco pilots, technicians, and constables.
Safety remains the highest priority, leading to significant decline in the number of accidents. “Consequential train accidents have reduced from 135 in 2014-15 to 30 in 2024-25. The railway said that consequential train accidents in 2004-14 were 1711,” the official said.
