Railway Protection Force (RPF) officers will once again start undergoing initial training at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) in Hyderabad along with the next batch of IPS probationers starting their first phase of training in the winter of this year, the Railways have said in a statement.

The Indian Railway Protection Force Service (IRPFS) officers are recruited by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) through Civil Services Examination in Railway Protection Force (RPF). The batch strength of IRPFS probationers is about five or six every year.

They undergo foundation courses at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie, and the National Academy of Indian Railways (NAIR), Vadodara, besides undergoing professional training at Jagjivan Ram RPF Academy at Lucknow.

Three batches of IRPFS officers, however, were trained alongside IPS officers in 1998 and 1999 but the arrangement was discontinued thereafter.

According to the Railway Ministry statement, the decision to re-start the initial training of IRPFS probationers at SVPNPA was taken after inter-ministerial consultations between the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Home Affair.

“This will also ensure better coordination and cooperation between IRPFS and IPS officers when they are posted in the field units,” it said.

The training in SVPNPA will equip the IRPFS officers to manage the railway security more effectively and professionally. This will also ensure better co-ordination and co-operation between IRPFS and IPS officers when they are posted in the field units.

“The increasing significance of railway security in the national security set-up calls for better professional competence of the RPF leadership which will be achieved if they train and work together with IPS officers from the start of their careers,” the statement said.