The Indian Railway Traffic Service (Hindi: ?????? ??? ??????? ????), abbreviated as IRTS is an organized Group 'A' service (cadre) of the Government of India. IRTS in its present form was reconstituted in 1967. The cadre functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways, Government of India. The officers of this service are responsible for administering Railway Transport 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.
Traffic Department is responsible for optimum utilization of Railway assets and their seamless integration to provide a swift and safe transportation service and consequent realization of revenues in-line with the social obligations of the Indian Railways.
Traffic Department comprises two branches -
- Operations
- Commercial
Officers may be shifted from one branch to another based on organisational requirements throughout their career.
Video Indian Railway Traffic Service
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".
Maps Indian Railway Traffic Service
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 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 Transportation Management, Lucknow (IRITM)
- 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
- Accounts Training at Centralised Training Academy for Railway Accounts (C-TARA), Secundarabad
- Secretariat Training at Institute for Institute of 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
- 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 Railway 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 Railway 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
- 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
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 centre 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 programme 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 redressal 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-a-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.
Organisational Structure
Organisational Structure of the IRTS Officers are as follows -
IRTS Officers are initially posted in one of the two departments -
- Operations
- Commercial
Generally, direct recruit officers are appointed in the Operations Department. They can also be posted in Indian Railway's major Railway Yards where they look after both Operations and Commercial aspects. In the present context, IRTS officers have one of the fastest promotional avenues in initial stages among all Central Services. Also, due to Selection Grade being non-functional in Railways, all Railway Officers remain field level executives (positions equivalent to District Collectors, SPs) 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 co-ordinating 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 organise
Being a large government department with a business orientation and immense social obligation requires a sense of professional managerial leadership along with sensitivity towards sensibilities of a developing economy. Railway operation is a 24*7 job that requires hands-on-management and quick decision making.
IRTS officers are readily inducted as heads of various PSUs within the railways and outside it. With the advent of the concept of port-led development and multi-modal transport, IRTS officers have been deputed as chairmen of important port trusts like Chennai, Paradip etc. Their expertise in logistic management is much appreciated.
Vast experience in troubleshooting logistical issues in real-time and hands-on approach opens door for IRTS Officers in private sector. They are much sought after as logistic heads of Multi-modal transport corporations
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 Sr. Advisor to Japan International Consultation Agency for transport and contributing to the construction of first high speed corridor between Mumbai - Ahmedabad.
Shri Shyamal Ghosh Dastidar
Born in April, 1947, Shri Shyamal Ghosh Dastidar joined the Indian Railways as an IRTS officer in 1969. He did graduation in Mechanical Engineering from Calcutta University. He has been an officer, who always successfully experimented with new ideas and innovation into the system, and benefitted the organisation immensely.
Shri Ghosh Dastidar 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. Besides this, he was the inspirational guide behind many landmark projects in Railways, like privatization of container train operations, operation of AC GaribRath trains, free upgradation of passenger tickets, dial 139, computerized selfticketing vending machines, Internet ticketing system, smart card for suburban passengers etc. He also led the development of work for preparing the blue-print for Dedicated Freight Corridors. He also made great contributions in re-opening of Munavav - Khokhrapar Rail link in 2005, which remained closed for the last 45 years.
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'. After retirement, Shri Ghosh Dastidar served as Vice Chairman of Railway Claims Tribunal's main branch in New Delhi.
He has also been associated with NTPC Ltd in the Board of Directors and with many other public and private entities as Advisor.
Shri Ajay Shukla
Shri Shukla is a senior officer of 1979 batch of Indian Railway Traffic Service. He has rich and varied experience of working on several important posts 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 also attended training courses in Australia and France
Shri Shukla did his Graduation in Science and Post Graduation in History from Lucknow University and was University Representative of Delhi Press Group of Magazines during university period. 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 1973-78. 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).
For his outstanding service in office, Shri Shukla won various prestigious Awards which include DRM's Award, General Manager Award, Railway Minister's Award, and Railway Board's Silver Medal for Rajbhasha. In addition, 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 June 30, 2013. During his long career spanning 38 years, Shri Mittal held various key positions in the Indian Railways. As CRB he was the Head of the apex level decision making body of Indian Railways and his responsibilities entailed overseeing the working and performance of 17 Zonal Railways, 7 Production Units, 1 Research Organization and 1 Premier Educational Institute for training of Group A Officers. As Chairman, Railway Board, Shri Mittal provided strategic leadership and direction in the running of the Indian Railway system professionally, policy formulation and planning covering all aspects of Railway working, induction and assimilation of technologies, development of Railways' vast human resource of a work force of almost 1.4 million, positioning of key senior level functionaries and their teams to ensure accomplishment of Corporate objectives, goals and targets; as also presiding over Departmental Promotion Committees for empanelment of incumbents to HAG level officers in the Railways. In the capacity of Chairman, Railway Board Shri Mittal was the interface with the higher bureaucracy of the Government of India, including PMO, Cabinet Secretariat and the Planning Commission. He represented the Ministry of Railways in various Inter-Ministerial Groups, Committees of Secretaries and other such high level forums. Shri Mittal also contributed significantly to the effective fulfillment of sectoral requirements of various Ministries/ Departments.
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. During Shri Mittal's tenure the Project witnessed significant progress including completion of over 90% Land acquisition, issue of almost all the required environmental and forest clearances, as also award of the World Bank aided major civil construction contract for the 343 km portion from Khurja to Kanpur on the Eastern Corridor, and JICA aided 641 km Rewari-Iqbalgarh Western Corridor.
He was appointed Member, UPSC on 8 August 2013
Social Media
- Facebook Page - www.facebook.com/irtsot
- Hashtag - #IRTS_moving_india
External links
- Indian Railways official Website
- Indian Railways Institute of Transport Management
- IRTS Association Website
- Indian Railway Fan Club Association
- Serving IRTS Officers
See also
- Scope of Railway Transport
- 2000 Batch IRTS Officer appointed CVO of CBSE under Ministry of Human Resource Development
- IRTS Officers pens "Break-up" song fou U.P based film
- Future prospects for IRTS officers in the Private sector
- Present role and future of IRTS by IRTS Association
- IRTS Officers appointed chairmen of Major Port Trusts
Source of article : Wikipedia
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