Job Opportunities in Rail Transport – Travelling Ticket Examiner, ECRC and Commercial Apprentice

Last updated on April 5th, 2015 at 06:15 am

Assistant Station Master (ASM), Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE), Train Conductor (TC), Enquiry cum Reservation Clerk (ECRC), Guard, Traffic and Commercial Apprentices etc. are the front line staff of Indian Railways having a first level interface with the passenger/public and management. This group of staff is always in uniform on duty ( except inspectorial  staff) and  can easily be recognized in Railway working areas without any difficulty. In fact, the public understands Railways working with this group of staff only and does not know much about the role and functions of other department. Like airways, pilot and air hostess are the front line staff and everyone recognizes them.

The cadre of ASM, Guard, TTE . ECRC and Apprentices are under the control of an IRTS cadre of officers in Indian Railways.

IRTS cadre of group A services is having two streams namely Operating and Commercial. Operations department is responsible for the operation of trains whereas commercial department is responsible of realization of revenue from all possible sources like passenger, freight, stalls, advertisement, parkings etc.

Even though no one bothers about the job profile of any post except looking for ways to get Railway job yet it will certainly help at one or the other stage to be aware of the  job profile of different post  and what is in store for the future.

TC, ECRC and Commercial apprentice works under the control of Commercial Cadre called Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (Sr.DCM) and other junior officers under him.

TC

This is the most sought after job in Indian Railways mainly due to opportunity power of obliging passengers in providing reservation during a train journey. Job involves in-charge of a reserved coach, guiding passenger, checking ticket in an unreserved coach or at the platform, manning the inquiry counter at Railway station etc.

Photo Gallery of the function of Train Conductor

Train Conductor guiding the passenger

Train Conductor guiding for a reservation in a train

Ticket Collector displaying news coverage of a good job done by him

Ticket Collector displaying news coverage of a good job done by him

Educational Qualification

Matric with 50% aggregate in matriculation. The condition of 50 % in aggregate in Matriculation is not applicable for candidates having qualification higher than matriculation and also to those candidates belonging to SC / ST / EX – Servicemen.

Is it not the best job option with the minimum educational qualification? There is hardly any matriculate only qualifying in the examination and it is mostly 10+2 or graduate and even post-graduate.

This is the job for which no one minds even excess workload or duty hours. It means manning   more number of coaches  in a train or working without rest. There is every possibility of making extra money, but mind it,  Vigilance is always watching to catch such persons. Also, with more and more transparency built into the system, the system is going to clean day by day.

ECRC

This is another job option attached with the Commercial Department dealing with the public. You are posted as Inquiry cum Reservation Clerk. You are posted at the reservation counter entering data for reservation. With the shortage of reserved seats as compared to demand, there are always off – duty requests and obliging your friends and relatives.

Educational Qualification

Educational qualification is same as that for IAS allied services i.e. Graduation or equivalent from a recognized university/Institution. In fact, the candidate preparing for IAS allied services appears in this examination as well.

Future Prospects

Beside having departmental promotion to higher grades and supervisory functions like Chief Reservation Supervisor, you can rise to the level of Assistant Commercial Manager through Limited Departmental Competitive Examination ( Just within 5-6 years).

Commercial Apprentice

Commercial Apprentice undergoes training program in different rulings about commercial management Indian Railways. The knowledge of rules helps in carrying out inspectors function and counselling of staff below. They occupy the position of Commercial Inspector also called as CMI.

Educational Qualification

Educational qualification is same as that for IAS allied services i.e. Graduation or equivalent from a recognized university/Institution. In fact, the candidate preparing for IAS allied services appears in this examination as well.

Future Prospects

Beside having promotional prospects in the department one can rise to the level of Assistant Commercial Manager through LDCE or LGS. They’re good prospects of qualifying as a Law Assistant also if you posses a degree in Law.

Salary and other benefits

I am not commenting on the pay scale which is always mentioned in the vacancy notice. Basic+Grade pay+DA (90%) constitutes the pay. On this you are entitled for House Rent Allowance, Transport Allowance, Night Duty Allowance etc. The job of TC and Commercial Inspector involves a lot of travelling and you are entitled to Daily allowance if travels on duty to a place located  more than 8 Km. Travelling is not very difficult because you are likely to back to your house by night.

Free travel for self and family makes the job very attractive.

Interview with Train Superintendent of Rajdhani Express

Job profile of TC during his entire career is very attractive. An interview with TS of Rajdhani narrates his career with Railways

Interview with Train Superintendent