The Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering, abbreviated as IRSME, is one of the group 'A' central engineering services of the Indian railways. 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 Combined Engineering Service Examination (ESE) 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': 50% through direct recruitment through the annual Civil Services 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
Engineering Services ExaminationThe incumbents who were Graduates in Engineering used to get selected by the Union Public Services Commission, the apex gazetted recruitment body of the Government of India. In 2020 Railways separated itself from Engineering Services Exam (ESE) and made Indian Railway Management Services (IRMS). Earlier the recruitment used to be through UPSC Engineering Services Exam for Engineers but now after 2 years halt it's through UPSC Civil Services Exam from 2022; an all India written test followed by interview for selected candidates. Earlier top rankers of Mechanical Engineering only used to get the chance to join IRSME cadre, but now it has become General Cadre or Cadre for all Civil Services aspirants. Special Class Railway Apprentice examination Special Class Railway Apprentice (SCRA) was a programme by which candidates are selected by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) India, to train in the undergraduate program in mechanical engineering at the Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Jamalpur. This programme started in 1927 and was one of the oldest in India. After the 2015 examination, Railways decided to close down this examination after UPSC communicated that it was not inclined to continue conducting the examination. However, the Ministry of Finance in 2021, in its report on the rationalisation of Indian Railways has recommended to start conducting the exam again stating that Indian Railways requires specialised training and skills beyond what is part of a regular graduation program.
The Indian Railway Management Services is merged into Civil Services in 2022 which now on will be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) of India. The UPSC is responsible for recruiting middle and top-level bureaucrats for the Government of India.
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: