A bitter discontent is simmering between the various services within the railways, thanks to the policy of merger and demerger announced in 2020 and 2024 respectively. There is no secret that officers from the civil services and the engineering services have long been at loggerheads. The seed of discontent was sowed with engineering service officers holding key positions, which were earlier occupied by the civil services officers, like the Railway Board Chairman and the head of the Operations and Business Development vertical.
The fresh reason for resentment was provided after the finance ministry approved the creation of 157 additional gazetted posts in the electrical engineering cadre of the Indian Railways Management Service (IRMS). Officers of the civil services feel this move has increased the representation of engineering service officers at the expense of civil services.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s recent speech in Parliament only added fuel to the fire. Vaishnaw’s repeated emphasis on the “hyper-technical” nature of the railways, was detested by those from the civil services in the railways. According to an officer requesting anonymity, civil servants have traditionally managed key posts but a ‘hyper- technical approach’ is driving the railways away from the people it serves.
