•The Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) is an organized Group 'A' Class 1 service (cadre) of the Government of India.
•The selection for the service is done through coveted Civil Services Exam conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
•The cadre functions under the administrative control of the Government of India, Ministry of Railways.
•The officers of the service are responsible for administering Railway Transport in the country.
•This is the service responsible for revenue generation in the railways.
•IRTS officers perform the leadership role among various technical departments and are the public interface of the Indian Railways.
Logo of IRTS
Responsibilities
•Facilitators of Railway services right from Policy Formulation,
•Design of Services,
•Planning of freight movement,
•Passenger transport,
•Passenger amenities to Terminal Management,
•Infrastructure Planning,
•Marketing of Services,
•Pricing,
•Ticketing,
•Contract Management and
•Employee Welfare.
Functions of Traffic Department
•Traffic Department comprises two branches i.e. Operations and Commercial
1.In the operations wing, officers ensure smooth and fast transportation of freight and passengers.
2.In the commercial wing, an officer has to deal with the sales, pricing, service and marketing aspects of passenger and freight business.
•Officers shift from one branch to another based on organisational requirements throughout their career and are groomed for leadership role in professional and personal life.
•IRTS officers get deputed to other Ministries/Departments of Government of India and various State Governments across the country.
•IRTS officers also perform in other functions like Safety, Public Relations, Media Relations, Sports Promotion, IT wing, Infrastructure Development, Regulation, e-Governance, Public Private Partnership, Urban Infrastructure, Human Resource Development etc.
Training
•After selection, the IRTS probationers undergo Foundation training at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) at Mussoorie, along with trainees of other Civil Services.
•IRTS probationers then report to their Centralized Training Institute (CTI) - Indian Railways Institute for Transportation Management, Lucknow (IRITM) for joining formalities and induction into the cadre as Officer Trainees or Probationary Officers.
•This is followed by visit to 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 Civil Services Officers in Railways.
History
•British Govt. recognized the need for a separate Traffic Department for handling train operations with the growing network and increasing traffic.
•Accordingly, the Traffic Service was created in the year in 1889 that was further strengthened in 1906.
•Earlier, an exclusive service reserved for English officers, admission into the cadre was thrown open to all post-Independence.
•Initially known as "Officers of the Superior Revenue Establishment of the Traffic, Transportation and Commercial Department of Indian Railways“
•On 4 March 1967, the service was rechristened "Indian Railway Traffic Service".
Hierarchy and pay scales
Special Features of IRTS
•The job of IRTS is quite demanding as they have to manage the operations and they are the public face of the Railways
•They have one of the fastest promotional avenues in initial stages among all Central Services.
•They remain in field for a relatively longer periods of time which make them quite effective at policy making.
•They are a service department responsible for collection of revenue and hence they have to compete with other modes of passenger and goods transport.
•They get the best facilities like Big Bungalows and personal assistant in most places.