<p>Railways are yet to fill 2.1 lakh vacant posts, including 90,000 safety-related vacancies, crucial for train operation.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The safety-related posts include loco running staff, driver, station master, guard, technology supervisor, control and yard staff, signal inspector and maintenance employees.<br /><br />Besides safety, there are also large number of vacancies in workshops, commercial section, para-medical and office staff in Railways which needs to be filled up.<br /><br />Railways, however, maintain that an aggressive recruitment drive is underway to fill up vacant posts.<br /><br />"Six months before the total vacant posts were 2.6 lakh and now it has come down to 2.1 lakh as we have undertaken a massive recruitment drive," a senior Railway official said, adding that "the number will further go down to 1.5 lakh in the next six months."<br />Altogether 67 accidents have occurred in the current fiscal while six have occurred in October itself.<br /><br />"Railways maintain sufficient cushion in safety posts like drivers. The recruitment is an ongoing process and due to a well defined procedure and constant retirements, there will always remain some unfilled vacancies at a given point of time," he added.<br /><br />Railways have carried out written examinations for 32,000 Group C vacancies and for about 85,000 Group D vacancies in the current fiscal. "The priority in all such recruitments is given to safety category posts," the official said.<br /><br />The official said that in the last two years about 84,000 vacancies in various Group C and D in safety categories were filled up. In addition, more than 10,000 recruitments were done in Group C and D on compassionate ground.<br /><br />"During this financial year, we have proposed to fill up one lakh vacancies, the process for which has already been initiated," he said.<br /><br />"As a special initiative for future vacancies likely to arise over a two year time-frame, fresh recruitment process has also been set in motion," the official said.</p>
<p>Railways are yet to fill 2.1 lakh vacant posts, including 90,000 safety-related vacancies, crucial for train operation.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The safety-related posts include loco running staff, driver, station master, guard, technology supervisor, control and yard staff, signal inspector and maintenance employees.<br /><br />Besides safety, there are also large number of vacancies in workshops, commercial section, para-medical and office staff in Railways which needs to be filled up.<br /><br />Railways, however, maintain that an aggressive recruitment drive is underway to fill up vacant posts.<br /><br />"Six months before the total vacant posts were 2.6 lakh and now it has come down to 2.1 lakh as we have undertaken a massive recruitment drive," a senior Railway official said, adding that "the number will further go down to 1.5 lakh in the next six months."<br />Altogether 67 accidents have occurred in the current fiscal while six have occurred in October itself.<br /><br />"Railways maintain sufficient cushion in safety posts like drivers. The recruitment is an ongoing process and due to a well defined procedure and constant retirements, there will always remain some unfilled vacancies at a given point of time," he added.<br /><br />Railways have carried out written examinations for 32,000 Group C vacancies and for about 85,000 Group D vacancies in the current fiscal. "The priority in all such recruitments is given to safety category posts," the official said.<br /><br />The official said that in the last two years about 84,000 vacancies in various Group C and D in safety categories were filled up. In addition, more than 10,000 recruitments were done in Group C and D on compassionate ground.<br /><br />"During this financial year, we have proposed to fill up one lakh vacancies, the process for which has already been initiated," he said.<br /><br />"As a special initiative for future vacancies likely to arise over a two year time-frame, fresh recruitment process has also been set in motion," the official said.</p>