Indian Railway Traffic Service

Indian Railway Traffic Service
Service Overview
Abbreviation	IRTS
Formed	1889
Formerly known as	Officers of the Superior Revenue Establishment of the Traffic, Transportation and Commercial Department of Indian Railways
Country	India
Training Academy	Indian Railways Institute of Transport Management (IRITM), Lucknow
Cadre Controlling Authority	Ministry of Railways (India)
Legal Personality	Governmental, Civil Service
General Nature	Logistics
Cadre strength	Around 900
Selection	Civil Services Exam (UPSC)
Website	IRTS Association
Head of Department
MOBD	Smt SEEMA KUMAR , IRTS

Last updated November 13, 2024

The Indian Railway Traffic Service, abbreviated as IRTS is a Prestigious Group 'A' Central Civil Service Cadre of the Government of India. IRTS in its present form was reconstituted in 1967. The IRTS Cadre functions under the Administrative Control of the Ministry of Railways, Government of India. The civil servants under this service are responsible for Operation and Business Development of Indian Railways in the country. On one hand, IRTS officers co-ordinate among various technical departments of the Indian Railways, while on the other hand, they form the public interface of the Indian Railways. Colloquially called Traffic Officers, they are the primary facilitators of Railway services right from Planning of freight movement, Passenger transport, Passenger amenities to Station Management and Infrastructure Planning.

History

With the growing network and increasing traffic, the British Govt. recognized the need for a separate Traffic Department for handling train operations. The Traffic Service was created in the year in 1889 that was further strengthened in 1906. Earlier, an exclusive service reserved for English officers, admission into the cadre was thrown open to all post-Independence.

Initially known as "Officers of the Superior Revenue Establishment of the Traffic, Transportation and Commercial Department of Indian Railways", the service, on 4 March 1967 was rechristened "Indian Railway Traffic Service".

The logo

The redesigned logo prominently features the following components

Ashok stambh in gold.
Pair of hands strongly holding up the Chakra signifying moving the nation towards prosperity and development.

A logo to represent the legacy of IRTS while highlighting its role in nation building in the times to come.

Recruitment

There are two modes of recruitment to IRTS Group 'A' :

50% through direct recruitment through the annual Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC.
50% through promotion from Group B officers of Operating and Commercial departments of the Zonal Railways.

Current cadre strength of IRTS officers is around 900, serving in 68 divisions across 17 Zonal Railways in India and the Railway Board

Training

After selection, the IRTS probationers undergo Foundation training at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), along with trainees of IAS, IPS and other Civil Services.

IRTS probationers then report to their Centralized Training Institute (CTI) - Indian Railways Institute for Transportation Management, Lucknow (IRITM) for joining formalities and induction into the cadre as Officer Trainees or Probationary Officers. This is followed by visit to a host of academies and institutions, over a period of next 78 weeks, to give wide-ranging exposure to officer trainees which would be useful in their career as railway officers. Some of these institutions include-

Operations and Commercial Training at Indian Railways Institute for Transport Management, Lucknow (IRITM) Archived 20 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine
Railway Foundation Course at National Academy of Indian Railway (NAIR), Vadodara.
Operations Training at Zonal Railway Training Institute (ZRTI), Udaipur
Marketing Management and Transport Economics at Indian Institute of Management (IIM)
Operations Research at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
Tourism and Hospitality management Training at Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)
Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Training at Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Academy, Ghaziabad Archived 19 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
Accounts Training at Centralised Training Academy for Railway Accounts (C-TARA), Secundarabad Archived 14 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine
Secretariat Training at Institute for Secretariat Training and Management (ISTM), New Delhi
Ethical Governance Training at Initiatives of Change (IofC), Panchgani
Accounts Training at National Academy Of Audit and Accounts (NAAA), Shimla
Metro Rail Training at Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), New Delhi
Military Logistics Training at Sena Bhavan, New Delhi
Appreciation program at Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun
Container Logistics Training at Inland Container Depot (ICD), Tughlaqabad
Signals and Tele-communications Training at Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications (IRISET), Secundarabad
P-Way, Works and Contract Management Training at Indian Railways Institute of Civil Engineering (IRICEN), Pune
Locomotive, Rolling Stock and Workshop Management Training at Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE), Jamalpur
Electric Traction and Railway Electrification Management Training at Indian Railways Institute of Electrical Engineering (IRIEEN), Nashik
Infrastructure Security Management Training at Jagjivan Ram Railway Protection Force Academy (JRRPF), Lucknow
Railway Information Infrastructure Management Training at Centre for Railway information systems (CRIS), New Delhi
Parliamentary Procedures Training at Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training (BPST), New Delhi Archived 1 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
Divisional attachments at 68 divisions spread across the length and breadth of the country
Industrial Field visits – Coal India, Aditya Birla Cements, TATA, Bhilai Steel Plant
Port Attachments – Paradip, Vishakhapatnam, JNPT, Mangalore, Krishnapatnam, Ennore etc.
Appreciation Visits to various Railway establishments situated in difficult terrains – Konkan Railways, K-K Line, Shimla-Kalka Toy Train, Nilgiri Railway, Udhampur-Srinagar, Pamban Bridge
Appreciation program at Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA), Dehradun
Appreciation program at Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun
Appreciation program at Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun
Foreign attachment with Deutsche Bahn and Siemens Mobility in Germany

Role and function

The role of an IRTS officer in the Operations Department is that of ensuring efficient, safe and user friendly transportation of freight and passengers. He/She ensures optimum utilization of railway's assets by maximizing output with available inputs. This is achieved by coordinating with the service departments looking after various assets of railways like track, wagons, engines, signals, etc. He/She combines the outputs of the various departments maintaining the assets – rolling stock and fixed infrastructure to produce a service output – passenger or freight transport. This is done through the Control Office, which is said to be the nerve center of Railways, under the direct superintendence of IRTS officers posted in Operations Department.

In the Commercial Department, an IRTS officer is responsible for revenue realization for various services offered by Indian Railways. The commercial department reviews past sales and profit performance; assess the potential of the railways for improved performance and traffic growth, relative to competitors; develop a program of action to achieve projected growth in traffic; define or re-define marketing objectives; specify sales, pricing and promotional strategies to increase traffic; and establish methods and systems to monitor performance. The department is also concerned with provisioning of passenger amenities and re-dressal of customer complaints. Various passenger amenities in Railway Stations and Trains, like catering, stalls on the Railway Stations, services in trains and stations etc. come under the superintendence of IRTS Officers working in the Commercial Department.

Being the first point of contact with the Rail users they are the agents of change in the Railway system by conveying user expectations. The information technology requirement of passenger ticketing and freight realization is also managed by IRTS officers in the zonal headquarters in association with the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS).

The role changes depending on where an officer is placed in the organization –

Division (Operational level) - Real action in terms of implementation of policies occur here
Zone (Tactical level) - Collation of Data, chasing of targets
Railway Board (Strategic level) - Policy making and National Priorities of Railways vis-à-vis industries and other modes of transport

IRTS officers go for Deputation in various ministries of Government of India. They are particularly sought after for their exceptional work ethic and result oriented functioning. IRTS officers are also preferred in projects related to infrastructure and marshaling of technical resources.

The opening up of Indian economy has brought a paradigm shift in the role of IRTS officers – from rail transport to logistics. They have been instrumental in raising the earnings of Indian Railways through efficient freight movement and improved passenger transport which are conducted 24x7 non-stop.

Organizational structure

Position in the Government of India	Division	Zone	Railway Board
Junior Time Scale	AOM/ACM/AO/ADSO	ATM/	Assistant Director
Senior Time Scale	DOM/DCM/ARM/DSO	DTM/	Deputy Director
Junior Administrative Grade/Selection Grade	Sr.DOM/Sr.DCM/Sr.DSO	Dy.COM/Dy.CCM/ Dy.CSO	Joint Director/Director
Senior Administrative Grade	ADRM/DRM	CFTM/CPTM/CCM/CSO	Executive Director
Higher Administrative Grade		PCOM/PCCM/PCSO	Advisor / Additional Member
Higher Administrative Grade +		General Manager	Member Operations & Business Development
Apex Scale			Chairman of Railway Board

Generally, direct recruit officers are appointed in the Operations Department. They can also be posted in Indian Railway's major Railway Yards & Areas where they look after both Operations and Commercial aspects. In the present context, IRTS officers have better promotional avenues in initial stages among other Central Services. Also, due to Selection Grade being non-functional in Railways, all Railway Officers remain field level executives for relatively longer periods of time which make them quite effective at policy making.

Challenges and opportunities

Movement of trains in a country as vast, diverse and dynamic as India poses a lot of challenges. Solving these challenges in real-time by coordinating with various department of railways, district authorities, society at large and business entities requires acumen for problem solving and knack for optimization. It is the foremost responsibility of IRTS Officers that the wheel on the rail must not come to a halt.

Railway transportation, being the most energy efficient and convenient over large distances is going to see increased patronization, by passengers and businesses alike, in the coming decades. Movement of this increased traffic over vast but capacity constrained Indian Railway network is going to be challenging for IRTS Officers to organize

Distinguished officers

Shri. V.N Mathur

Shri Vinoo Narain Mathur was honored as distinguished alumnus on 66th foundation day of NAIR. He is from IRTS 1971 batch and in his illustrious career of 36 years on Railways, besides other responsibilities, he worked as senior professor Mgt./NAIR, DRM/Dhanbad, secretary Railway Board, GM/NR and finally member traffic. He made significant contributions to railway working in various capacities. After superannuation, he guided Bharuch-Dahez rail Corporation Ltd. From 2009 to 2014. Presently, he is member and senior advisor to Japan International Consultation Agency for transport and contributing to the construction of first high speed corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Shri Shyamal Ghosh Dastidar

Shri Shyamal Ghosh Dastidar belongs to 1969 batch of IRTS Officers. He has been an officer, who always successfully experimented with new ideas and innovation into the system, and benefited the organisation immensely. He served in various capacities, which included Sr. DOM/Dhanbad division, DRM/Bilaspur division, COM/South Central Railway and GM/Central Railway. Working as Member Traffic from 2005 to 2007, he made exemplary contributions in the turnaround of economic status of the organisation. He also led the development of work for preparing the blueprint for dedicated freight corridors.

For his tireless and innovating efforts for the development of railway business and economy of the country, Shri Ghosh Dastidar was honoured with the title Padmashree.

Shri Ajay Shukla

Shri Shukla is a senior officer of 1979 batch of Indian Railway Traffic Service. He has held important positions in the Indian Railways, like chief passenger traffic manager and chief safety officer, Northern Railway; Divisional Railway Manger, Dhanbad, East Central Railway; chief operations manager, North Western Railway and South East Central Railway; additional general manager, East Central Railway.

He started writing short articles in Hindi as well as in English since college time and more than 100 articles written by him were published in various magazines and newspapers during college/university period between 1973 and 1978. Some of the books in English authored by Shri Shukla include (i) Silent Raindrop – Collection of poetry, (ii) Philosophy of Bhagvada Gita, and (iii) Four Lane Expressway to Stress Management and Happiness and some of popular books written by him in Hindi are: Taj Mahal ka Tender (Play), Doosra Adhyay (Play) and Pratibodh (1977) (Poem) and Prashnchihan (Collection of poems). He won Sahitya Kala Parishad National Award for his play Doosra Adhyaya, Mohan Rakesh Samman by Sahitya Kala Parishad for his play Taj Mahal Ka Tender and National Award by All India Radio (Akashvani 2000) for Play Hum Hongey Kaamyaab. Shri Shukla has many e-books to his credit which include (i) Yoga-Karma to Nirvana,(ii) Awakening, (iii) Silent Raindrops, (iv) Muddle Management (v) My Life; as a Ghost and (vi) Four Lane Expressway to Stress Management and Happiness.

Shri Vinay Mittal

A 1975 Batch Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer, Shri Vinay Mittal, was the chairman, Railway Board (CRB) and ex officio principal secretary to the Government of India till 30 June 2013. During his long career spanning 38 years, Shri Mittal held various key positions in the Indian Railways.

As chairman, Railway Board, Shri Mittal also held the position of ex officio chairman of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL), which has been set up for constructing the two iconic high technology freight corridors of over 3000 km on the Eastern and Western flanks of the country being attempted on a scale of this magnitude for the first time in India.

He was appointed member, UPSC on 8 August 2013

Shri Vinay Mittal has been appointed chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on 22 January 2018.

Shrimati Ananda Shankar Jayant

Ananda Shankar Jayant is an Indian classical dancer, choreographer, scholar and bureaucrat, known for her proficiency in the classical dance forms of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi.^[1] She is the first woman officer in the Indian Railway Traffic Service on South Central Railway ^[2] and her 2009 TED talk is ranked among the top twelve Incredible TED talks on cancer.^[3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Railway zone</span> Northernmost railway zone of India

The Northern Railway (NR) is one of the 17 Railway zones of India and the northernmost zone of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered at Baroda House in New Delhi.

The Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering, abbreviated as IRSME, is one of the group 'A' central engineering services of the Indian railways. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Mechanical Engineering Division of the Indian Railways. Till 2019, IRSME officers were drawn from the Combined Engineering Service Examination (ESE) and Special Class Railway Apprentice (SCRA) examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission. All appointments to the Group 'A' services are made by the president of India.

The National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), Vadodara formerly Railway Staff College and historically the Pratap Vilas Palace, is a Centralised civil service, engineering and medical training institute for Civil Service, Engineering and Medical Officers of Indian Railway Personnel Service, Indian Railway Stores Service and Indian Railway Medical Services cadre headed by a Director General and staffed by a faculty of experienced Railway Managers and Experts. Starting with the initial training of Officers Trainees inducted as Central Civil Services, Engineering and Medical professionals that form the backbone of Indian Railways, the Academy also conducts, mid-service mandatory or theme based in service Management Courses for all Officers of IR and courses for Officers of other Group A Central Services, Public Sector and Foreign Railways. The Academy is housed in the sprawling 55 acres campus of the Pratap Vilas Palace at Lalbaug, Vadodara.

The Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE) is a prestigious group A central engineering services of the Indian railways. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Electrical Engineering organisation of the Indian Railways.

The Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE) is a central engineering services group A cadre of the Indian railways. The officers of this service are responsible for managing the Signal and Telecommunications Engineering Organization of the Indian Railways.

The Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS) is one of the Group A central engineering services of the Government of India. The officers of this service are procurement and logistics specialists, contract managers on the Indian Railways, providers of logistics for the transportation of material from and within various railways as well as the planners and maintainers of the intelligent warehousing with automated storage and retrieval systems on the Indian Railways. The IRSS officers undergo training at National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR) for a period of 18 months which includes two months certification course at IIM Khozikhode and a foreign training.

The Indian Railway Accounts Service is one of the Group A Central Civil Service of the Government of India. The civil servants under this Service are responsible for the Accounts and Finance Management of the Indian Railways. About 25–30 IRAS officers are recruited every year through Civil Services Examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission. Currently, the IRAS Cadre has a strength of about 800 officers.

Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) is a civil service training institute on public policy and public administration in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand in India. The academy's main purpose is to train civil servants of the IAS cadre and also conduct the Foundation Course of Group-A Central Civil Services. After completion of training, the trainee officers of IAS cadre are awarded an MA from Jawaharlal Nehru University. It has been functioning under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions since 1985.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is a ministry of the Government of India, that is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules, regulations and laws relating to road transport, transport research and in also to increase the mobility and efficiency of the road transport system in India. Through its officers of Central Engineering Services (Roads) cadre it is responsible for the development of National Highways of the country.

The National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) formerly known as National Academy of Customs, Excise and Narcotics (NACEN) is the apex civil service training institute of Government of India for capacity building of civil servants in the field of indirect taxation, particularly the areas of customs, GST, central excise, service tax and narcotics control administration. Located at Palasamudram in Andhra Pradesh, the Academy is operated under the aegis of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

The Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) is a civil service of the Government of India. IOFS officers are Gazetted defence-civilian officers under the Ministry of Defence. They are responsible for the administration of the Indian Ordnance Factories, which provide the indigenous defence production capabilities of India.

Bathinda Airport is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force base serving the city of Bathinda and the Malwa region in Punjab, India. It is located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) north-west of the city in Bhisiana and near the village of Killi nihal singh wala. The airport operates commercial flights under the Airports Authority of India as a civil enclave of the Bhisiana Air Force Station. Alliance Air was the only commercial airline that operated flights from the airport to Delhi from December 2016 till 2020. Since then, the airport remained inactive, until when in September 2023, FlyBig, restarted flight operations by starting flights to Ghaziabad and later to Dehradun from 18 September 2023.

Rakesh Sharma is an Indian civil servant and politician who has served as Chief Secretary of Government of Uttarakhand. Sharma is a 1981 batch Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand cadre Indian Administrative Service officer. An enigmatic leader and effective administrator, he has overseen development projects at bot

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subhash Chandra Garg</span> Indian civil servant and former Finance Secretary

Subhash Chandra Garg is a 1983 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre. He served as Economic Affairs Secretary and Finance Secretary of India. He has also served as an executive director in the World Bank.

The Railway Board Secretariat Service (RBSS) is a central civil service with induction at Group 'B' stage in the Secretariat of the Ministry of Railways of the Union Government of India.

Vinod Kumar Yadav is the Administrator of Delhi Gymkhana Club Limited and is the Ex Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Railway Board, Indian Railways. He previously served as the General Manager for South Central Railway zone of Indian Railways and held various other important assignments in the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited and in the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. He is from Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE) – 1980 batch.

The National Industrial Security Academy is the premier training institution of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for training in industrial security and disaster management. The Academy is spread over 245-acre (99 ha) of land and is located in Hakimpet on the Rajiv Gandhi State Highway, Medchal–Malkajgiri District, of Hyderabad, Telangana.

Syamal Bhushan Ghosh Dastidar is an ex-Indian civil servant, former Member Traffic of the Railway Board and Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India. In 2009, he was the only person to be awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in the civil service category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sushil Chandra</span> Former Chief Election Commissioner of India

Sushil Chandra is a 1980 batch IRS (IT) officer. He was the 24th Chief Election Commissioner of India. He previously served as the Chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes.

References

↑ "Ananda Shankar Jayant: She who danced her way through cancer and conquered it". India Today. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
↑ "Ananda Shankar Jayant : The First Lady IRTS Officer of South Central Railway, Indian Railways" (PDF). Delhi University. 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
↑ "12 Incredible TED Talks on Cancer". Masters in Healthcare. 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Ananda_Shankar_Jayant:_She_who_danced_her_way_through_cancer_and_conquered_it-1] "Ananda Shankar Jayant: She who danced her way through cancer and conquered it". India Today. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2016.

[Ananda_Shankar_Jayant_:_The_First_Lady_IRTS_Officer_of_Indian_Railways-2] "Ananda Shankar Jayant : The First Lady IRTS Officer of South Central Railway, Indian Railways" (PDF). Delhi University. 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2016.

[12_Incredible_TED_Talks_on_Cancer-3] "12 Incredible TED Talks on Cancer". Masters in Healthcare. 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Public Services of India
All India Services	Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Indian Forest Service (IFS) Indian Police Service (IPS)
Central Civil Services	Central Labour Service (CLS) Central Engineering Service (CES) Central Engineering Service (Roads) (CES-R) Central Secretariat Service (CSS) Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS) Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS) Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) Indian Defence Service of Engineers (IDSE) Indian Economic Service (IES) Indian Foreign Service (IFS) Indian Information Service (IIS) Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS) Indian Post and Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service (IPTAFS) Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS) Indian Railway Protection Force Service (IRPFS) Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE) Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME) Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE) Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE) Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS) Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS) Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) Indian Revenue Service (IRS) Indian Revenue Service (Custom and Indirect Taxes) (IRS-CIT) Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) (IRS-IT) Indian Statistical Service (ISS) Indian Telecommunication Service (ITS) Indian Radio Regulatory Service (IRRS) Indian Trade Service (ITrS)
State Civil Services	Bihar Administrative Service (BAS) Gujarat Administrative Service (GAS) Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) (1957–2019) Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) Kerala Administrative Service (KAS) Provincial Civil Service (Jharkhand) (JPCS) Provincial Civil Service (Uttar Pradesh) (UPPCS) Provincial Civil Service (Uttarakhand) (UKPCS) Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) Tamil Nadu Civil Service (TNCS) West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS)
State Forest Services	Provincial Forest Service (Uttar Pradesh) (UPPFS) Provincial Forest Service (Uttarakhand) (UKPFS)
State Police Services	Provincial Police Service (Uttar Pradesh) (UPPPS) Provincial Police Service (Uttarakhand) (UKPPS) West Bengal Police Service (WBPS)
Non-State Civil Services	Provincial Development Service (PDS) Provincial Finance and Accounts Service (PFAS) Provincial Secretariat Service (PSS) Provincial Transport Service (PTS) Rajasthan Accounts Service (RAcS) West Bengal Judicial Service (WBJS) West Bengal Legal Service (WBLS)
Others	Civil Services of India