The Ministry of Railways has rejected media reports that 30,000 posts are being eliminated across Indian Railways, even as a Railway Board directive issued on April 24, 2026, set a 2% manpower rationalisation target translating into the surrender or redistribution of 29,608 sanctioned posts in the financial year 2026-27.
The Board order, titled “Manpower Rationalization Target for 2026-27,” was sent to all Zonal Railways, Production Units, and other establishments, asking them to implement the reduction through the HRMS portal and meet quarterly targets rather than deferring action to year-end.
As per the annexure attached to the order, the total sanctioned strength of Indian Railways as on April 1, 2026, stood at 14,80,455, of which 29,608 posts have been identified for surrender or redistribution. Among zones, Northern Railway has the highest target at 3,303 posts, followed by Eastern Railway at 2,544, Central Railway at 2,492, Western Railway at 2,339, and Southern Railway at 1,906. East Coast Railway has been given a target of 1,239 posts against its sanctioned strength of 61,956.
The Ministry’s clarification, issued on April 27, called the reports “incorrect” and described the exercise as routine manpower rationalisation. “The exercise primarily involves the redistribution of posts that have become redundant over time and their transfer to critical operational and safety-related categories,” the Ministry said in its statement, adding that several thousand posts have been created in safety-related categories during the financial year 2025-26 and that there is no net reduction in sanctioned strength.
The posts identified for surrender are largely in the non-safety category, with roles such as typists flagged as outdated and reassigned to clerical functions. The Ministry has emphasised that the exercise will not affect permanent employees currently in service. Vacated positions, however, will not be refilled.
Unions have read the directive differently. C. Srikumar, General Secretary of AIDEF and a member of the National Council JCM, has called the abolition of sanctioned posts a planned move that could reduce regular recruitment and gradually expand contractual hiring in core public sector operations. Union representatives have argued that filling existing vacancies in safety and maintenance should take priority over rationalisation, pointing to more than 3.5 lakh unfilled posts across Indian Railways, including roughly 20,000 vacancies in Southern Railway alone. Hospitals, housekeeping, electrical services, and technical maintenance are among the worst affected.
