How to Become a Train Driver in India: Career, Salary, Eligibility

The post of a train driver in Indian Railways is extremely important. We can say that they are the pillars on which Indian Railways operate. However, you should note that there is no direct recruitment for trained train drivers in the Indian Railways. In fact, the railway recruit candidates as assistant loco pilots. After certain years of experience, they get promoted to the post of Senior Assistant loco pilots and then to loco pilots. To become a train driver in India, candidates should have the ability to work long working hours and respond quickly. Go through this post, we are going to discuss how you can become a train driver in India.

Indian Railway Train Driver Career Prospectus

• A train driver in Indian Railways starts his/ her career as a diesel/ electric Assistant loco driver.
• The job description of a train driver in Indian Railways includes checking the state of the locomotive, helping with all the auxiliary equipment as needed. Along with this, he/ she also needs to call out the aspects of the signals.
• An assistant driver first works as an assistant on goods trains, then on passenger trains, and on express trains. Finally, they become a shunter or a goods driver.
• After gaining experience as a goods driver, you can become a driver on passenger trains and finally on express trains.
• The whole process of becoming a driver of an express driver from an assistant loco pilot usually takes 8 to 10 years.
• Overall, we can say that it takes years of hard work to finally become a driver of trains like Rajdhani or Shatabdi in India.
• The different grades of Indian Train Drivers include Senior Fireman, Diesel Assistant, Senior Diesel Assistant, Electric Assistant, Driver, Passenger Driver, Senior Passenger Driver, Goods Driver, Senior Goods Driver, Shunter, Senior Shunter, Fireman, Senior Electric Assistant, Second Fireman, Senior Second Fireman.

Highlights of Train Driver Recruitment (Assistant Loco Pilot)

Name of Exam	Railway Recruitment Board Assistant Loco Pilot and Technician Exam
Body who conduct the exam	Railway Recruitment Board (RRB)
Level of Exam	National
Frequency of Exam	Depends upon vacancy
Mode of examination	Online
Duration of the exam	First Stage Computer Based Test (CBT) – 1 hour   Second Stage Computer Based Test (CBT) – 2 hours 30 minutes
Language	Questions will be asked in the following languages – Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Manipuri, Konkani
Application Fees	General/ OBC – Rs. 500/-   SC/ ST/ PWD – Rs. 250/-
Examination Stages	First Stage CBT, Second Stage CBT, Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBAT) and Document Verification

RRB Assistant Loco Pilot Selection Important Dates

The tentative dates from the next recruitment of Indian Railway Drivers are as follows.

Main Events	Tentative Dates
Starting of online application form submission	To be updated
Last date to submit the application form	To be updated
Date of RRB ALP CBT 1	To be updated
Declaration APL result	To be updated
Availability of RRB ALP CBT 2 admit card	To be updated
Date of RRB ALP CBT 2	To be updated
Declaration of APL Result	To be updated
RRB ALP CBAT exam	To be updated
Declaration of result	To be updated

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Indian Railway Train Driver Eligibility Criteria

The Railway Recruitment Board (RRB)

Age Limit

• Minimum Age – 18 years
• Maximum Age – 28 years

Note: Candidates from reserved categories will get a relaxation in the upper age limit as per the rules.

Educational Qualification

• Aspirants should have passed the Matriculation / SSLC Plus ITI/ Course Completed Act Apprentices or Diploma/ Degree in Engineering.

RRB Assistant Loco Pilot (train driver) Application Form

The application form for RRB Assistant Loco Pilot will release in online mode only. The complete process of the application form submission is explained below.

• First of all, you need to visit the official website of the Railway Recruitment Board.
• On the official website, you will have to register by providing some of your basic details like name, Date of Birth and Father’s Name, Mother’s Name, Aadhaar number, State, Community, SSLC/Matric Roll number, year of passing SSLC/Matric, mobile number and email-id
• At the time of registration, candidates must verify his/ her email ID and phone number.
• Then, you need to sign in by entering your login credentials during registration.
• After signing in, you are required to provide your complete academic, personal, and contact details as accurately as possible.
• Apart from the details, candidates have to upload scanned copies of their passport size photograph and signature.
• After filling in the application form, you need to pay the required application fee.
• Finally, you should take a printout of the application form submitted for future references.

Indian Railway Train Driver Selection Process

The selection process of Indian Railway Train Driver post includes the following four stages –

1^st Stage Computer Based Test (CBT)

• This computer-based test is the first stage of RRB ALP examination. This test is qualifying in nature.
• It contains 75 objective-type multiple-choice questions. The duration of this exam is 60 minutes.
• Each question will carry 1 mark. 1/3rd Mark is deducted in case of an incorrect answer.
• The maximum mark is 75 marks

2^nd Stage Computer Based Test (CBT)

• Those who clear the 1^st stage computer-based test (CBT) get invited for the 2^nd stage computer-based test.
• This second stage exam for Indian Railway Assistant Loco Pilot Post is divided into two parts i.e. Part A and Part B.
• Part A will carry 100 questions and the exam duration is 90 minutes.
• Similarly, part B carries 75 questions and the exam duration is 60 minutes.
• Each question will carry 1 mark and 1/3rd of a mark is deducted in case of an incorrect answer.

Computer Based Aptitude Test (CBAT)

• The 3^rd stage of the selection process is a computer-based aptitude test (CBAT).
• The question paper of this test is available in both English and Hindi language.
• There are five test batteries, candidates have to score a certain number of marks in each of the test batteries to clear the test.

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Document Verification

• The final stage of the selection process is document verification.
• The document verification takes place at the respective RRBs.
• All candidates need to carry the original documents at the respective RRBs at the time of document verification.
• If any candidate fails to get his documents verified then his/ her candidature will be rejected.

Railway Driver Salary

• The pay scale of a newly appointed Indian Railways Train Driver starts from Rs. 25000/- to Rs. 30000/-
• The government keeps on revising the pay scale from time to time as per the inflation rate.
• Apart from the basic salary, the Indian Railway Driver also gets attractive remuneration and incentives including contributory provident fund, gratuity, medical facilities, and free/concessional Railways passage, etc.

Train Driver Salary in Indian Railways as per the 7^th pay commission

Assistant Loco Pilot Salary as per the last RRB ALP Recruitment Notification
RRB ALP Salary	Rs.19,900/-(7th Pay Commission Pay Matrix)
RRB ALP Perks/ Benefits	•    Dearness Allowance on Total pay   •    Running Allowance •    Transport Allowance •    House rent allowance •    Pension (10% salary deduction)

Frequently Asked Questions

 Question – 1: In which mode and where the application form for RRB Assistant Loco Pilot will release?

Answer: The application form for RRB Assistant Loco Pilot will release online on the official website of different RRBs.

Question – 2: What is the maximum age to become an Indian Railway Train Driver in India?

Answer: The maximum age to become an assistant loco pilot is 28 years. Candidates from reserved categories will get relaxation in the upper age limit as per the rules.

Question – 3: Is the process of becoming a train driver in India Railways also applicable for Delhi Metro?

Answer: No, the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) follows its own recruitment process of train drivers.

Question – 4: Can you give me the contact details of different Railway Recruitment Boards in India?

Answer: The contact details of Railway Recruitment Boards are as follows.

Name of RRB	Website Address and Telephone Numbers
Ahmedabad	https://www.rrbahmedabad.gov.in/   Phone – 079 – 22940858
Ajmer	http://rrbajmer.gov.in/   Phone – 0145 – 2425230
Allahabad	http://rrbald.gov.in/   Phone – 0532 – 2224531
Bangalore	http://www.rrbbnc.gov.in/   Phone – 080 – 23330378 Phone – 080 – 23334147
Bhopal	http://www.rrbbpl.nic.in/   Phone – 0755 – 2746660
Bhubaneswar	http://www.rrbbbs.gov.in/   Phone – 0674 – 2303015
Bilaspur	http://www.rrbbilaspur.gov.in/   Phone – 07752 – 247291
Chandigarh	http://www.rrbcdg.gov.in/   Phone – 0172 – 2730093
Chennai	http://www.rrbchennai.gov.in/   Phone – 044 – 28275323
Gorakhpur	http://www.rrbgkp.gov.in/   Phone – 0551 – 2201209
Guwahati	http://www.rrbguwahati.gov.in/   Phone – 0361 – 2540815
Jammu Srinagar	http://www.rrbjammu.nic.in/   Phone – 0191 – 2476757
Kolkata	http://www.rrbkolkata.gov.in/   Phone – 033 – 25430108
Malda	http://www.rrbmalda.gov.in/   Phone – 03512 – 264567
Mumbai	http://www.rrbmumbai.gov.in/   Phone – 022 – 23090422
Muzaffarpur	http://www.rrbmuzaffarpur.gov.in/   Phone – 0621 – 2213405
Patna	http://www.rrbpatna.gov.in/   Phone – 0612 – 2677680
Ranchi	http://rrbranchi.gov.in/   Phone – 0651 – 2462429
Secunderabad	http://rrbsecunderabad.nic.in/   Phone – 040 – 27821663
Siliguri	http://www.rrbsiliguri.org/   Phone – 0353 – 2663840
Thiruvanthapuram	https://rrbthiruvananthapuram.gov.in/   Phone – 0471 – 2323357