In what is shaping up to be one of the fiercest job hunts in India’s public sector history, over 1.87 crore applicants are vying for just 64,197 vacancies in the Indian Railways’ 2024 recruitment cycle.

Data tabled in Parliament by the Railway Ministry last week reveals the staggering scale of the competition — in some categories, over 1,000 candidates are battling for a single post. The hiring push comes amid a perfect storm: thousands of employees reaching retirement age, a rapidly expanding rail network, and new roles created by sweeping modernization drives.

A record recruitment drive

Between January and December 2024, recruitment is underway for 92,116 vacancies across 10 major Centralised Employment Notifications (CENs), spanning roles from Assistant Loco Pilots (ALP) and Technicians to RPF constables, junior engineers, and paramedical staff.

The numbers underline the intensity:

·        RPF Constable — 4,208 posts, 45.3 lakh applicants (1,076 contenders per job)

·        NTPC (Graduate) — 720 applicants per job

·        Technician — 14,298 posts, 26.9 lakh applicants (189 per job)

·        ALP — 18,799 posts, 18.4 lakh applicants (98 per job)

Stage-by-stage battle

The first phase of Computer-Based Tests (CBTs) for 55,197 posts has been completed across 150 cities in 15 languages, with results declared for several key categories, including ALP, RPF-SI, Constable, and JE/DMS/CMA. The second stage for ALP and JE/DMS/CMA is also done, while over 9,000 technicians have already been empanelled.

Momentum carrying into 2025
The recruitment juggernaut is rolling into next year, guided by the Railways’ newly institutionalised annual hiring calendar. Two major notifications have already been issued:

·        CEN 01/2025 — 9,970 ALP vacancies (March 2025)

·        CEN 02/2025 — 6,238 Technician vacancies (June 2025)

A decade of acceleration

The numbers also show how recruitment has scaled up. Between 2004 and 2014, the Railways inducted 4.11 lakh personnel; from 2014 to 2025, that number has jumped to 5.08 lakh — a gain of nearly one lakh hires. Officials credit the leap to measures such as digitised, multi-language CBTs, a fixed annual recruitment calendar, and a track record free from paper leaks and malpractices.

With competition this intense, securing a railway job in 2024 has become less a career move and more a national endurance test — one measured in lakhs of dreams and just a few thousand appointment letters.