Indian Railways recruitment crosses 5.56 lakh since 2014, up 54,000 in two years
Indian Railways has recruited 5.56 lakh people between 2014-15 and 2026-27 (up to 30 June 2026), according to a reply tabled in the Lok Sabha on July 22, 2026, during the monsoon session. This marks an increase of about 54,000 recruits from the 5.02 lakh figure reported by the Railway Ministry in April 2025, which covered the period up to 2023-24.
The pre-2014 benchmark has remained unchanged, with recruitment from 2004-05 to 2013-14 pegged at 4.11 lakh in both the 2025 and 2026 answers. The post-2014 count has risen as more recruitment cycles have been completed and tallied.
The Ministry attributed the acceleration largely to the 'annual calendar' system introduced in 2024 for Group C recruitment. This system promises aspirants more regular opportunities, certainty of exam dates, and faster processing from notification to appointment. Under this calendar, recruitment for 1,61,889 non-gazetted vacancies has been undertaken across 2024, 2025, and 2026 combined.
In 2024, the heaviest rounds of recruitment occurred: 10 Centralised Employment Notifications (CENs) covering 92,116 vacancies, spanning posts like Assistant Loco Pilots, Technicians, RPF Sub-Inspectors and Constables, Junior Engineers, Paramedical staff, and level-1 categories such as Track Maintainers and Pointsmen. First-stage Computer Based Tests (CBT) for all these posts have been completed, drawing 3.58 crore candidates in total, while the level-1 exam alone pulled in over 1.08 crore candidates.
In 2025, nine CENs were issued for 51,970 vacancies, notified in phases through the year — from 10,970 Assistant Loco Pilot posts in March to 22,195 Level-1 posts in December. First-stage CBTs for 29,775 of these posts are already done, with over 90.9 lakh candidates appearing across exams for Section Controllers, ALPs, JE/DMS/CMA, Technicians, Paramedical staff, and Non-Technical Popular Categories (NTPC).
2026 has so far seen three CENs issued for 17,803 vacancies — 11,127 Assistant Loco Pilot posts notified in March, 6,557 Technician posts in May, and 119 Section Controller posts in June.
The ratio of applicants per vacancy varied widely. In 2024, 92,116 vacancies drew 3.58 crore applicants, an average of about 389 applicants per post. The highest competition was for RPF Sub-Inspectors, where 15.35 lakh candidates competed for 452 vacancies (nearly 3,400 applicants per post). Non-Technical Popular Categories (Under-Graduate) had about 1,837 applicants per vacancy. In 2025, against 29,775 posts, 90.96 lakh candidates appeared, averaging 306 applicants per post. Section Controller posts were the most contested, with 4.33 lakh candidates for 368 vacancies (about 1,179 per post). For 2026 CENs, candidate turnout figures are not yet available.
