Railways screening 22.5 lakh applicants to recruit 18,799 assistant loco pilots

New Delhi, Nov 27: The Indian Railways has taken up the mammoth task of screening 22.5 lakh applicants at 346 centres across the country to recruit 18,799 assistant loco pilots.

The examination began last Monday and will continue till Friday. It is being held in 15 shifts and 18 languages.

“Of the total candidates, 13.5 lakh have already appeared for the exam. In the next two days, nine lakh candidates are expected to appear for the exam,” said a senior official from the Railway Board.

The Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) holds examinations for recruitment for various posts in the Indian Railways.

The board has set up a control centre in Rail Bhawan here to monitor all centres through CCTV cameras. “Dozens of officials have been keeping a regular watch on the conduct of examinations,” the officer said.

He also said that for the first time, an annual recruitment calendar was announced in February and examinations were being conducted as per the schedule.

The Railway Recruitment Board issues notification for the recruitment of assistant loco pilots between January and March every year, while April, May and June are earmarked for recruitment to technical posts.

From July to September, aspirants who wish to join the railways as junior engineers, paramedics and non-technical posts are considered. Recruitment for Level 1 and ministerial and isolated categories have been slotted in for October to December.

According to officials, the RRB will issue employment notifications four times a year so that more and more candidates can participate. Earlier, when recruitment drives used to be held after a gap of three to four years, many candidates missed that opportunity due to the age bar.

“Let’s say a candidate applies for the position of assistant loco pilot between January and March and gets disqualified, he or she can get another opportunity the next year. If the same candidate has the required educational qualification for the job of a technician, he or she can apply for it between April and June in the same year,” a senior railways official said.