Railway Training Institutes
Railway Training Institutes
Overview
Indian Railways runs a three-tier training infrastructure to keep its 13-lakh workforce updated. At the apex is the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), Vadodara (earlier Railway Staff College). It is followed by six Centralised Training Institutes (CTIs) for specialised professional streams and 55 Zonal Training Schools (ZTSs) plus 200+ sub-centres for basic & periodic refresher courses. Every Group-A officer, irrespective of service (IRTS, IRPS, IRSE, etc.), begins his/her career with a 78-week Foundation Course at NAIR, while Group-B promotions and Group-C inductions are channelled through the CTIs and ZTSs respectively.
Key Facts & Figures
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Oldest training institute | Railway Staff College (now NAIR) – established 25-12-1930 at Dehradun, shifted to Vadodara 1952 |
| Apex training body | National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), Vadodara – declared “Institute of National Importance” 2022 |
| CTIs under Railway Board | 6 (IRIMEE, IRICEN, IRITM, IRITM(L), IRIFM, IRINS) |
| Zonal Training Schools | 55 (≈ 1 per division + 1 per production unit) |
| Total residential capacity | NAIR-550, CTIs-3,100, ZTSs-12,000 trainees simultaneously |
| Annual trainee throughput | ≈ 2.5 lakh man-days (pre-Covid figure) |
| IRIMEE location | Jamalpur (Bihar) – oldest CTI (1862) |
| IRICEN location | Pune – signalling & telecomm cadre |
| IRITM location | Secunderabad – transportation & traffic |
| IRITM(L) location | Lucknow – logistics & material management |
| IRIFM location | Mumbai (Churchgate) – finance & accounts |
| IRINS location | Nasik Road – safety & inter-disciplinary courses |
| Virtual learning platform | “i-GOT” (Integrated Government Online Training) launched 2020 |
| Railway Board training cell | Director-General (Training) – ex-officio Additional Member (HRD) |
| Training budget | ≈ ₹1,200 crore per annum (2023-24 BE) |
| International trainees | 2,500+ officers from 55 Afro-Asian countries trained till date |
| ISO certification | NAIR & all CTIs are ISO 9001:2015; NAIR also ISO 14001 |
| Common training portal | www.trainingschools.indianrailways.gov.in |
Important Points
- NAIR is the only civil-service training institution outside Mussoorie/Hyderabad to be recognised as “Civil Services Training Institute” by DoPT.
- IRIMEE Jamalpur doubles as the Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering and traces its origin to the first locomotive workshop (1862).
- IRICEN Pune is the nodal faculty for the world’s largest Route-Relay Interlocking (RRI) at Kharagpur.
- IRITM Secunderabad conducts the mandatory 32-week Traffic Apprentice (TA) course before posting as Assistant Operations Manager.
- IRIFM Mumbai runs the Accounts Officer Recruitment Training (AORT) – 78 weeks for directly recruited CA/CMA.
- IRINS Nasik Road is the only institute that trains running staff (Loco-pilots, Guards) on simulators complying to UIC-612 standards.
- All CTIs have tie-ups with IITs/NITs for MTech & PhD programmes under the “RailTel Academic Corridor”.
- ZTSs follow a 3-tier model – Basic (induction), Refresher (every 5 years) and promotional (selection grade).
- Trainees are paid full salary plus Daily Allowance (DA) at par with touring officials during residential courses.
- “Mission 100% Safety” (2022) mandates 15-day safety re-certification for all safety category staff at IRINS or ZTS every 3 years.
- Online module “Rail-Vidya” hosts 1,400 e-courses; completion is prerequisite for appearing in LDCE/GDCE.
- NAIR’s “Village Immersion” module requires officer-trainees to spend 10 days in a model railway village adopted under CSR.
- Women’s quota: 20% seats reserved in hostel blocks of all CTIs since 2019.
- All training institutes observe 26 November as “Manav Suraksha Diwas” (Human Safety Day) with mock drills.
- Passing certificate of CTIs is valid for 10 years; failure to undergo refresher makes an employee ineligible for promotion.
Frequently Asked in Exams
- Full form & location of all six CTIs – favourite matching-type question.
- Year of establishment & original location of NAIR.
- Which institute trains signalling engineers? (IRICEN Pune)
- Oldest training institute of Indian Railways. (IRIMEE Jamalpur)
- Name the apex training academy declared “Institute of National Importance” in 2022.
Practice MCQs
Question:01 The National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR) was originally set up in which year?
A) 1925
B) 1930
C) 1947
D) 1951
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: NAIR, initially known as the Railway Staff College, was established in 1930 at Dehradun.
Question:02 Which among the following is NOT a Centralised Training Institute (CTI) of Indian Railways?
A) IRIMEE Jamalpur
B) IRICEN Pune
C) IRITM Secunderabad
D) IRDTA Bhubaneswar
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D
Explanation: IRDTA Bhubaneswar does not exist as a Centralised Training Institute; the valid CTIs are IRIMEE, IRICEN, and IRITM.
Question:03 Match the following railway training institutes with their locations:
A) IRIFM – Mumbai; IRINS – Nasik Road; IRITM(L) – Lucknow
B) IRIFM – Lucknow; IRINS – Mumbai; IRITM(L) – Nasik Road
C) IRIFM – Nasik Road; IRINS – Lucknow; IRITM(L) – Mumbai
D) IRIFM – Mumbai; IRINS – Lucknow; IRITM(L) – Nasik Road
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: Indian Railways Institute of Financial Management (IRIFM) is located in Mumbai, Indian Railways Institute of Signal & Telecommunication Engineering (IRINS) is at Nasik Road, and Indian Railways Institute of Transport Management (IRITM) Lucknow campus is in Lucknow.
Question:04 The 78-week Foundation Course for all Railway Group-A officers is conducted at
A) LBSNAA
B) NAIR
C) IRITM
D) IRIMEE
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: The 78-week Foundation Course for all Railway Group-A officers is conducted at the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), Vadodara.
Question:05 Which institute is responsible for training of Loco-pilots on driving simulators?
A) IRIMEE Jamalpur
B) IRINS Nasik Road
C) IRITM Secunderabad
D) IRICEN Pune
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: IRINS Nasik Road (Indian Railways Institute of National Safety) is the dedicated facility where Loco-pilots receive simulator-based training to enhance driving skills and safety awareness.
Question:06 Indian Railways’ first training school, IRIMEE, is located in
A) Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
B) Jamalpur, Bihar
C) Pune, Maharashtra
D) Secunderabad, Telangana
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: The Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (IRIMEE), established in 1928 as the first premier training school of Indian Railways, is situated in Jamalpur, Bihar.
Question:07 The nodal institute for signalling & telecommunication engineering training is
A) IRICEN Pune
B) IRISET Secunderabad
C) IRIMEE Jamalpur
D) NAIR Vadodara
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: Indian Railways Centre for Electronics & Telecommunications Engineering (IRICEN) at Pune is the nodal training institute for signalling & telecommunication engineering.
Question:08 How many Centralised Training Institutes (CTIs) are presently functioning under the Railway Board as per 2026 records?
A) 5
B) 6
C) 7
D) 8
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: The Railway Board currently operates six Centralised Training Institutes (CTIs) across the country to impart specialised training to its officers and staff.
Question:09 In which year was NAIR declared an “Institute of National Importance”?
A) 2020
B) 2021
C) 2022
D) 2023
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C
Explanation: NAIR (National Academy of Indian Railways) was officially declared an “Institute of National Importance” in the year 2022.
Question:10 The mandatory safety re-certification course for running staff is conducted every
A) 1 year
B) 2 years
C) 3 years
D) 5 years
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C
Explanation: As per Railway Board guidelines effective 2026, running staff must undergo a safety re-certification course once every 3 years to ensure continued competence and adherence to updated safety protocols.
BETA
