Rithik Rahman at 07:23, 29 April 2026

2026-04-29T07:23:20Z

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{{Short description|Railway engineering department in India}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Cleanup press release|1=article|date=March 2026}}
{{Overly detailed|date=March 2026}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2026}}
}}

{{Infobox
| title = Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering
| headerstyle = background:#800080; color:white;
| image =
| header1 = Service overview
| label2 = Abbreviation
| data2 = IRSME
| label4 = [[Date of establishment|Founded]]
| data4 = {{start date and age|df=yes|1888}}
| label5 = Country
| data5 = India
| label6 = Training Institute
| data6 = [[Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering|Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Jamalpur]]
| label7 = Cadre controlling authority
| data7 = Member (Traction & Rolling Stock), [[Ministry of Railways (India)|Ministry of Railways, Government of India]]
| label8 = Minister responsible
| data8 = [[Ashwini Vaishnaw]], [[Minister of Railways (India)|Minister of Railways, Communication and IT]]
| label9 = Legal personality
| data9 = [[Governmental]]; [[Engineering]]
| label12 = [[En cadre|Cadre strength]]
| data12 = about 1700{{nbsp}}members
| label13 = Selection
| data13 = [[Engineering Services Examination and Special Class Railway Apprentice Examination (UPSC)]]
| label17 = Notable Alumni
| data17 = [[Ashwani Lohani]] (former CRB), [[Rajendra K. Pachauri]] (on behalf of IPCC) (Nobel Peace Prize)
| header18 = Head of Department
| label19 = Member Traction and Rolling Stock
| data19 = R. Rajagopal,IRSME
}}

The '''Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering''' ('''IRSME''') is one of the group 'A' [[Government of India|central engineering services]] of the Indian railways.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-01 |title=Arun Arora is new GM of Eastern railways |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/arun-arora-is-new-gm-of-eastern-railways-7432521/ |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-02-20 |title=K.S. Jain takes charge as Additional General Manager of South Western Railway |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/ks-jain-takes-charge-as-additional-general-manager-of-south-western-railway/article67867925.ece |access-date=2026-03-05 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> 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 [[Engineering Services 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.

==Recruitment==
There are two modes of recruitment to IRSME Group 'A':
* 25% through direct recruitment through the annual [[Engineering Services Examination]] conducted by UPSC.
* 25% through direct recruitment through the annual [[Special Class Railway Apprentice Examination]] conducted by UPSC.
* 50% through promotion from Group 'B' officers of Mechanical departments of the Zonal Railways.

Current cadre strength of IRSME officers is around 1700, serving in 68 divisions and 3 Production units across 17 Zonal Railways in India and the Railway Board.

Previous modes of recruitment included [[Engineering Services Examination]] conducted by the Union Public Services Commission. In 2020, Railways separated itself from Engineering Services Exam (ESE) and made it Indian Railway Management Services (IRMS).

The other exam was [[Special Class Railway Apprentice]] examination, also conducted by UPSC.

In 2022, the Indian Railway Management Services is merged into Civil Services examination.

== Training ==
After selection, the IRSME probationers report to their '''Centralized Training Institute (CTI)''': Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Jamalpur, (IRIMEE) 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:

* '''Alma mater''' at [http://www.irimee.indianrailways.gov.in/ Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Jamalpur (IRIMEE)]
* '''Railway Foundation and Induction Course''' at [[Railway Staff College|National Academy of Indian Railway (NAIR), Vadodara]]
* '''Marketing Management and Transport Economics''' at [[Indian Institutes of Management|Indian Institute of Management (IIM)]]
* '''Ethical Governance Training''' at [http://in.iofc.org/ Initiatives of Change (IofC), Panchgani]
* '''Metro Rail Training''' at [http://www.delhimetrorail.com/ Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), New Delhi]
* '''Signals and Tele-communications Training''' at [[Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications|Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications (IRISET), Secundarabad]]
*'''P-Way, Works and Contract Management Training''' at [http://www.iricen.gov.in/iricen/Home Indian Railways Institute of Civil Engineering (IRICEN), Pune] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003060216/http://www.iricen.gov.in/iricen/Home |date=2019-10-03 }}
* '''Locomotive, Rolling Stock and Workshop Management Training''' at [[Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering|Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE), Jamalpur]]
* '''Electric Traction and Railway Electrification Management Training''' at [[Indian Railways Institute of Electrical Engineering|Indian Railways Institute of Electrical Engineering (IRIEEN), Nashik]]
* '''Railway Information Infrastructure Management Training''' at [[Centre for Railway Information Systems|Centre for Railway information systems (CRIS), New Delhi]]
* '''Parliamentary Procedures Training''' at [http://bpst.nic.in/ Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training (BPST), New Delhi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301063020/http://bpst.nic.in/ |date=2014-03-01 }}
* '''Divisional attachments''' at 68 divisions spread across the length and breadth of the country
*'''Industrial Field visits''' – [[Integral Coach Factory|ICF]], [[Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli|MCF]], [[Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala|RCF]] and [[Banaras Locomotive Works|BLW]]
* '''Appreciation Visits to various Railway establishments''' situated in difficult terrains – [[Konkan Railway]]s, [[Kothavalasa–Kirandul line|K-K Line]], Shimla-Kalka Toy Train, Nilgiri Railway, [[Jammu–Baramulla line|Udhampur-Srinagar]]
* '''Foreign attachment''' with [[Deutsche Bahn]] and [[Siemens Mobility]] in [[Germany]]

==Role and function==
The main areas of responsibility

* Motive Power availability (Locomotive sheds)
* Crew Management (Locomotive operations)
* Rolling Stock Management (Coaching depots, freight yards)
* Traffic restoration in case of accidents
* Production Units - Locomotives, Coaches, Wheel sets, etc.
* Repair and Manufacturing workshops

==Organisation==

The IRSME is headed by a member rolling stock in the [[Railway Board]] ([[Ministry of Railways (India)|Ministry of Railways]]). Member rolling stock is better known by the acronym ''MRS''.

In each of the zones the organisation is headed by a Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer. The PCME reports to the General Manager of the railway. The office of the Member Rolling Stock of the Railway Board guides the PCME on technical matters and policy.

The general managers of the Production Units report to the Railway Board. The production units are:
* [[Marathwada Rail coach factory]], [[Latur]]
* [[Banaras Locomotive Works]], [[Varanasi]]
* [[Chittaranjan Locomotive Works]], [[Chittaranjan]]
* [[Patiala Locomotive Works]], [[Patiala]]
* [[Integral Coach Factory]], [[Chennai]]
* [[Rail Coach Factory]], [[Kapurthala]]
* [[Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli]]
* [[Wheel & Axle Plant]], [[Bangalore]]
* [[Rail Spring Karkhana]], [[Gwalior]]
* Rail Wheel Plant, Bela, [[Chhapra]].

== Hierarchy ==
{|border="1" cellpadding="5"
|-
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;" | Grade
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;" | Designation in the field
! scope="col" style="text-align:center;" | Designation in Headquarters
! style="text-align:center;" | Basic pay
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Apex Scale (Pay level 17)
| style="text-align:center;" | {{center|Nil}}
| style="text-align:center;" | [[Chairperson of the Railway Board|Chairman & CEO, Railway Board]] [[Secretary to the Government of India|Secretary]]
| style="text-align:center;" | {{INRConvert|225|k|lk=on}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Higher Administrative Grade (+) (Pay level 16)
| style="text-align:center;" | General Manager [[Additional Secretary]]
| style="text-align:center;" | Member (Mechanical), Railway Board
| style="text-align:center;" | {{INRConvert|205.4|k|lk=on}}—{{INRConvert|224.4|k|lk=on}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Higher Administrative Grade (Pay level 15)
| style="text-align:center;" | Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer
| style="text-align:center;" | Additional Member, Railway Board [[Additional Secretary]]
| style="text-align:center;" | {{INRConvert|182.2|k|lk=on}}—{{INRConvert|224.1|k|lk=on}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Senior Administrative Grade (Pay level 14)
| style="text-align:center;" | Divisional Railway Manager / Additional Divisional Railway Manager
| style="text-align:center;" | Executive Director [[Joint Secretary]]
| style="text-align:center;" | {{INRConvert|144.2|k|lk=on}}—{{INRConvert|218.2|k|lk=on}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Junior Administrative Grade (Functional) (Pay level 13)
| style="text-align:center;" | Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer / Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer
| style="text-align:center;" | Director
| style="text-align:center;" | {{INRConvert|123.1|k|lk=on}}—{{INRConvert|215.9|k|lk=on}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Senior Time Scale (Non Functional) (Pay level 12)
| style="text-align:center;" | Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer
| style="text-align:center;" | Joint Director Deputy Secretary
| style="text-align:center;" | {{INRConvert|78.8|k|lk=on}}—{{INRConvert|209.2|k|lk=on}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Senior Time Scale (Pay level 11)
| style="text-align:center;" | Divisional Mechanical Engineer
| style="text-align:center;" | Deputy Director Under Secretary
| style="text-align:center;" | {{INRConvert|67.7|k|lk=on}}—{{INRConvert|208.7|k|lk=on}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Junior Time Scale (Pay level 10)
| style="text-align:center;" | Assistant Divisional Mechanical Engineer
| style="text-align:center;" | Assistant Director Assistant Secretary
| style="text-align:center;" | {{INRConvert|56.1|k|lk=on}}—{{INRConvert|177.5|k|lk=on}}
|}

==Distinguished officers==
{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!Batch
!Honors
!Remarks
|-
|K.L.Bery
|1941
|[[Padmashri]]
|
|-
|A.C.Chatterjee
|1944
|[[Padmashri]]
|
|-
|P.C.Luther
|1947
|[[Padmashri]]
|
|-
|Z.I.Puri
|1947
|M. M., [[Pakistan Railway Board]]
|
|-
|M.M.Suri
|1948
|[[Padmashri]]
|In action in 1971
|-
|M.C.Khanna
|1950
|[[Vishisht Seva Medal]]
|
|-
|P.S.Chaudhuri
|1950
|[[Vishisht Seva Medal]]
|
|-
|H.N.Gupta
|1959
|1997 Man of the Year [[American Biographical Institute]]
|
|-
|N.C.Sinha
|1960
|[[Vishisht Seva Medal]]
|In action in 1971
|-
|[[Rajendra K. Pachauri]]
|1961
|[[Padma Vibhushan]], [[Nobel Peace Prize]] (on behalf of IPCC)
|
|-
|[[Ashwani Lohani]]
|1978
|Chairman and Managing Director, [[Air India]]
|}

==See also==
* [[Jamalpur Gymkhana]]
* [[Centralised Training Institutes of the Indian Railways]]
* [[Indian Railways organisational structure]]
* [[Indian Engineering Service]]

== References ==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://irsme.nic.in Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070114150815/http://www.irsme.nic.in/ |date=2007-01-14 }}

{{Public Services of India}}

[[Category:Indian Engineering Services|Mechanical Engineering]]
[[Category:Indian Railways Services|Mechanical Engineering]]

Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering - Revision history

Rithik Rahman at 07:23, 29 April 2026