Railway Board Issues Consolidated Guidelines for Posting Husband and Wife at Same Station
The Railway Board has issued a fresh set of consolidated instructions aimed at facilitating the posting of husband and wife at the same station or at locations close to each other in the case of non-gazetted railway employees. The instructions are intended to support family life, child welfare and greater participation of women in Central Government employment while balancing such requests with administrative requirements.
The Railway Board issued the instructions through RBE No. 63/2026, dated August 5, 2026, under letter No. E(NG)I-2009/TR/29 (E-3079813). The circular consolidates and supersedes several earlier instructions issued over the years, including the Board’s February 2, 2010 letter and instructions dating back to 1971, 1988, 1995 and 1997.
The latest order is applicable specifically to non-gazetted railway employees. The Board has clarified that gazetted officers continue to be governed by separate instructions, including its August 31, 2015 letter.
The policy is based substantially on the principles contained in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoP&T) guidelines issued in 2009. These guidelines sought to improve the representation of women in Central Government services and enable government employees to maintain a normal family life. The Railway Board has also highlighted the importance of family welfare and the care of children, particularly until they attain 18 years of age.
Under the consolidated instructions, railway authorities have been directed to consider requests for spouse postings sympathetically and make efforts to post husband and wife at the same station or as close to each other as administrative circumstances permit. However, the Board has also made it clear that such postings should not create administrative difficulties. Another important safeguard is that one spouse should not be placed in a position where he or she works as the subordinate of the other.
Both Spouses Working in Railways
Where both husband and wife are railway employees belonging to the same seniority unit, and are working in the same department, the instructions provide for posting them together wherever a post of the required level is available. In such circumstances, they should invariably be posted at the same station.
If both spouses are railway servants but belong to different seniority units, efforts should be made to post them at a station where suitable posts are available in their respective units. Requests involving a change of category may also be considered sympathetically, subject to applicable rules and administrative requirements.
Railway Employee and Central Government Service Spouse
The Board has also laid down arrangements for cases where one spouse is a railway employee and the other is a member of an All India Service or another Central Government service.
In such cases, efforts should be made to post the railway employee at a station or location falling within the territorial jurisdiction of the Railway, division or production unit closest to the spouse’s place of posting. Where a railway organisation or suitable post is not available at that location, proximity to the spouse’s posting should be given due consideration.
A similar approach has been prescribed where one spouse is a railway employee and the other works in a State Government service. If posting the railway employee close to the spouse is not feasible, a request seeking the spouse’s posting near the railway employee may be forwarded to the concerned authority for sympathetic consideration.
Public Sector Undertakings
The instructions also cover cases where the spouse of a railway employee works in a Central or State Public Sector Undertaking. A railway employee may seek posting at or near the spouse’s place of employment, and such requests may be considered favourably.
If a suitable railway post is not available at the spouse’s location, an effort may be made to provide a posting at a nearby station. Alternatively, the railway employee’s request for the spouse to be posted closer to the railway employee may be forwarded to the concerned PSU’s controlling authority.
The Board has further directed controlling authorities to consider transfer requests from non-gazetted railway employees seeking posting at their spouse’s place of employment with the utmost sympathy. Where the wife is the railway employee, the same concessions and principles will apply to her.
Time-Bound Disposal of Complaints
The Railway Board has introduced additional procedural safeguards to ensure that spouse-posting requests are dealt with transparently. Complaints regarding non-adherence to the instructions are to be considered by an authority at least one level above the authority that originally took the decision, subject to the prescribed administrative hierarchy.
Representations are also required to be considered and disposed of in a time-bound manner.
To monitor such cases, separate registers for spouse-posting transfer requests are to be maintained at Divisional and Zonal Headquarters. These registers are to be reviewed periodically to monitor pending and disposed cases.
At the same time, the Board has stressed that existing instructions relating to transfer and change of category will continue to apply. Therefore, the spouse-posting policy does not override other established railway rules or administrative requirements.
The consolidated circular is expected to provide greater clarity to railway employees seeking postings closer to their spouses while creating a uniform framework for authorities to process such requests. The policy seeks to strike a balance between employees’ family responsibilities and the operational and administrative needs of Indian Railways.
