An Indian locomotive hauling a passenger train.

The new positions will be filled over the two years in two phases. Credit: UY Scuti.

Indian Railways has announced plans to recruit around 230,000 people for various positions over the next two years.

In a statement, the Union Ministry of Railways stated that the decision is aimed at meeting the current manpower requirements, as well as increasing overall efficiency.

An ongoing hiring process was initiated 14 months ago to fill around 150,000 vacant positions.

Currently, Indian Railways has a sanctioned strength of 1,506,598 employees, of which 1,223,622 personnel are on roll and 282,976 posts are vacant.

“Around 99,000 of railway staff are scheduled to retire in the next two years, creating total net vacancies of nearly 230,000.”

With the recruitment of 151,548 employees currently going on, around 131,428 positions will still be vacant. In addition, around 99,000 of railway staff are scheduled to retire in the next two years, creating total net vacancies of nearly 230,000.

These positions will be filled over the two years in two phases.

In the first phase, beginning between February and March, around 131,328 posts will be filled. It is expected to be completed by May 2020.

Once complete, the second phase of recruitment will be launched to fill the remaining 99,000 vacant positions. This phase is expected to commence in between May and June next year and is due to be completed by August 2021.

Along with the new recruitment, the railway ministry has also announced that it will extend 22 pair of train services across various railway zones of the country.

The step is aimed at providing additional connectivity between various places and support the optimal utilisation of resources.