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Govt reveals 1.2 lakh railway jobs open for 2024–25 recruitment

Railways has so far finalised selection panels for more than 23,000 candidates across posts like Technicians, JE/DMS/CMA, Paramedical categories, RPF Sub-Inspectors, Assistant Loco Pilots.

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Dec 5, 2025 09:30 AM IST

A total of 59,678 posts have already been completed under various stages of the recruitment process, the minister said. (Image: AI generated)

The Indian Railways has initiated recruitment for 1,20,579 vacancies under the annual recruitment calendars of 2024 and 2025, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Winter Session. The minister’s reply addressed queries related to the scale of vacancies, delays in recruitment, and the possibility of regularising contractual staff, outlining what is currently among the largest public-sector hiring exercises in the country.

According to Vaishnaw, vacancies in the Railways arise on a continuous basis due to the organisation’s vast workforce, ongoing technological upgrades and operational expansion. Recruitment, he said, is therefore a continuous process carried out through Centralised Employment Notifications (CENs) issued by the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs).

In 2024, a total of 10 major CENs were issued covering 92,116 vacancies. Recruitment for another 28,463 posts under the 2025 calendar has already commenced. Together, these account for the 1,20,579 vacancies currently under process.

The Ministry also clarified that manpower planning is aligned with operational requirements, mechanisation and innovation across railway zones. It added that no instances of question paper leaks or examination malpractices have been reported so far.

As per the data shared in the reply, the 2024 recruitment covers a wide range of safety, technical and non-technical categories, including Assistant Loco Pilots (ALPs), Technicians, Sub-Inspectors and Constables in the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Junior Engineers, Depot Material Superintendents (DMS), Chemical and Metallurgical Assistants (CMA), paramedical staff, NTPC (Graduate and Undergraduate) posts, Ministerial and Isolated categories, and Level-1 posts such as Track Maintainers, Pointsmen and Assistants.

A total of 59,678 posts have already been completed under various stages of the recruitment process, the minister said.

Stage-wise examination data of first stage/single-stage CBT (Completed for 59,678 posts):

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Exam	Candidates	Cities
1st Stage CBT – ALP (18,799 vacancies)	18,40,347	156
CBT – Technician (14,298 vacancies)	26,99,892	139
1st Stage CBT – JE/DMS/CMA (7,951 vacancies)	11,01,266	146
CBT – RPF SI (452 vacancies)	15,35,635	143
CBT – RPF Constable (4,208 vacancies)	45,30,288	147
CBT – Paramedical (1,376 vacancies)	7,08,321	143
1st Stage CBT – NTPC Graduate (8,113 vacancies)	58,41,774	141
1st Stage CBT – NTPC Under-Graduate (3,445 vacancies)	63,27,473	157
CBT – Ministerial & Isolated (1,036 vacancies)	4,46,013	139

Second stage CBTs completed for key categories

Three major recruitment categories have completed their second-stage CBTs:

Exam	Candidates	Cities	Languages
2nd Stage CBT – ALP (18,799 vacancies)	2,66,363	112	15
2nd Stage CBT – JE/DMS/CMA (7,951 vacancies)	1,17,339	118	15
2nd Stage CBT – NTPC Graduate (8,113 vacancies)	1,21,931	129	15

Additionally, the Computer-Based Aptitude Test (CBAT) for ALP — the final qualifying stage has also concluded for 1.32 lakh candidates in 84 cities.

Currently, exams that are underway underway: Level-1 and RPF PET

CBT for 32,438 Level-1 posts began on 27 November 2025, spread across 140 cities in 15 languages.

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Physical Efficiency Tests (PET) for 4,208 RPF Constable posts commenced on 13 November 2025. These categories represent some of the most bulk-intensive recruitment areas.

Panels finalised for over 23,000 candidates

Railways has so far finalised selection panels for more than 23,000 candidates across posts like Technicians, JE/DMS/CMA, Paramedical categories, RPF Sub-Inspectors, Assistant Loco Pilots. The ministry highlighted that most of these positions fall under safety-critical roles.

‘No delays, no malpractice’: Minister on railway recruitments

The 2025-26 cycle will see 28,463 vacancies, with seven new CENs introduced for this period–

CEN No.	Post	Vacancies	Notification Month
01/2025	Assistant Loco Pilots	9,970	March 2025
02/2025	Technicians	6,238	June 2025
03/2025	Paramedical	434	July 2025
04/2025	Section Controllers	368	August 2025
05/2025	JE / DMS	2,585	October 2025
06/2025	NTPC (Graduate)	5,810	October 2025
07/2025	NTPC (Under-Graduate)	3,058	October 2025

While responding to concerns about recruitment delays and exam irregularities, the Railway Minister stated that the recruitment process is conducted on a rolling basis due to constant vacancy generation, requires extensive logistical and technical arrangements, has remained transparent with no paper leaks or malpractice reported.

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RRB exams, he noted, are complex operations involving large-scale city coordination, multilingual question banks, and trained personnel, factors that naturally extend timelines.