RBE No. 63/2026 – Posting of Husband and Wife at the Same Place

Order Details

Item	Details
RBE No.	63/2026
Letter No.	E(NG)I-2009/TR/29 (E-3079813)
Date	05-08-2026
Issued by	Railway Board (Ministry of Railways), Estt.(N)
Subject	Posting of Husband and Wife at the same place – Instructions in respect of Non-gazetted Railway employees
Effective from	Not specified in the RBE

Original Text of RBE

RBE No. 63/2026

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA/BHARAT SARKAR
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS/ RAIL MANTRALAYA
(RAILWAY BOARD)

No. E(NG)I-2009/TR/29 (E-3079813) New Delhi, dated 05-08-2026

The General Managers (P)
All Indian Railways and Production units.
(As per standard list).

Sub:- Posting of Husband and Wife at the same place – Instructions in respect of Non-gazetted Railway employees.

The extant instructions regarding posting of husband and wife at the same station in respect of Non-gazetted Railway employees are contained in the Ministry of Railways letter No. E(NG)II/71/TR/14 dated 01.10.71, No. E(NG)I-86/TR/14 dated 06.01.1988 and No. E(NG)I-96/TR/28 dated 6.12.95. The instructions regarding posting of husband and wife were modified & circulated to Railways vide this Ministry’s letter No. E(NG)I/97/TR/28 dated 05.11.1997 and letter of even number dated 02.02.2010, consequent upon acceptance of recommendations of 5^th & 6^th CPC respectively. However, it has been brought to the notice of this office that there is some confusion about certain provisions of the instructions and applicability of the same in various situations. Accordingly, the matter has been considered by this Ministry and consolidated instructions for posting of husband and wife working in non-gazetted cadres in Railways are being issued in supersession of Railways Board’s letters dated 02.02.2010, ibid.

2. In the context of the need to make concerted efforts to increase representation of women in Central Government jobs, the Government vide DoP&T’s O. M. No.28034/9/2009-Estt(A) dated 30.09.2009 has decided that where both spouses are in the same Central Service or working in the same department, and if posts at an appropriate level are available, they may mandatorily be posted at the same station, provided that no administrative problems are expected to arise as a consequence.

3. Further, on the basis of the 6^th CPC Recommendations, Government Servants have already been allowed the facility of Child Care Leave which is admissible till the children attain 18 years of age. On similar lines, provisions of Railway Board’s letter dated 05.11.1997 have been amended and the consolidated guidelines will now be as under:

(i) where both the spouses are railway employees and belong to the same seniority unit:

The husband and wife, if working in the same department and if the required level of post is available, should invariably be posted together, ensuring that one of them does not work as subordinate to the other, in order to enable them to lead a normal family life and look after the welfare of their children especially till the children attain 18 years of age.

(ii) where both the spouses are railway servants but belong to different seniority units

Efforts may be made to post both the railway servants at the station where posts at appropriate level exist in the respective seniority units failing which requests for change of the category may be considered sympathetically, keeping in view all other relevant rules in the matter.

(iii) where one of the spouses is a railway servant and the other belongs to All India Service or another central Service.

The Railway servant should be posted at station/place in the Railway/Division/PU in whose territorial jurisdiction the place/state of posting of his/her spouse falls, or as close to it as possible if there is no Railway organisation/post at the place/state of posting of the spouse.

(iv) where one of the spouses is a railway servant and the other belongs to a state service:

The Railway servant should be posted at the station/place in the Railway/Division/PU in whose territorial jurisdiction the place/state of posting of his/her spouse falls. If it is not possible, if a request from the railway servant to the controlling Authority of the spouse for his/her posting at the place of posting of the railway servant is received, the same may be forwarded to the concerned authority for sympathetic consideration.

(v) whereone of the spouses is a railway servant and the other is working in a central/state Public Sector Undertaking

The railway servant may apply to the controlling Authority for a posting at the place of posting of his/her spouse which may be considered favourably by the competent authority. If no post is available for posting of the railway servant at the place of posting of the spouse he/she may be posted to a place closer to the place of posting of the spouse. If this also is not possible, an application from the railway servant for posting of the spouse who is working in the Central/State Public Sector Undertaking may be forwarded to the controlling authority of the spouse for his/her posting at or near the place of posting of the railway servant.

4. The guidelines given above are only illustrative and not exhaustive. The Ministry of Railways desire that in all other cases the controlling authority of the railway servants should consider requests from non-gazetted railway servants for transfer to the place of posting of their spouses with utmost sympathy. Where only wife is a Railway Servant, above concessions shall be applicable to the Railway Servant.

5. Complaints are sometimes received that even if posts are available at the station of posting of the spouse, the administrative authorities do not accommodate the employees citing administrative reasons. In all such cases, the cadre controlling authority should strive to post the employee at the station of spouse and in case of inability to do so, specific reasons, therefore, may be communicated to the employee.

6. Although, normal channels of representations/complaints redressal mechanism exists, added safeguards to prevent non-compliance may be provided by ensuring that the complaints against non-adherence to the instructions are decided by authorities at least one level above the authorities which took the original decision when they are below the SAG level/Head of PUs. All such representations should be considered and disposed of in a time bound manner.

7. While all efforts as stated in the foregoing paragraphs may be made to post the husband and wife at the same station, instructions issued by the Board from time to time in regard to request transfer/change of category should be followed in all such cases. A separate register maybe maintained at each Divisional and Zonal Headquarters of the Railways for registering requests for transfers from railway servants for posting at the place of posting of their spouses, which may be reviewed from time to time.

8. The above instructions shall be applicable for posting of Husband and Wife at same station in respect of Non-Gazetted Railway Servants. The posting in case of Gazetted officers shall continue to be governed by Railway Board’s letter No. E(O)III/2014/PL/05 dt.31.08.2015.

9. Past case decided in terms of Board’s earlier letter dated 02.02.2010 which may not be in conformity with the above modified instructions need not be reopened.

Please acknowledge receipt.

Hindi version will follow

(Sanjay Kumar)
Dy. Director/Estt.(N)
Railway Board
Ph. No. 011-23047197
E-mail Id- sanjay.kumar6@gov.in

Download Link

[Download RBE No. 63/2026 (PDF)]

Summary / Introduction

Railway Board has issued RBE No. 63/2026 to bring all instructions on posting of husband and wife at the same station for non-gazetted railway employees into one consolidated order. The Board noted that there was some confusion about certain provisions and how they apply in different situations. This letter supersedes the Railway Board letter dated 02.02.2010, and it amends the provisions of the earlier letter dated 05.11.1997. It also refers to the DoP&T O.M. dated 30.09.2009 on increasing women’s representation in Central Government jobs.

The order sets out how posting should be handled in five situations, depending on where the spouse works: the same seniority unit, a different seniority unit, an All India or other Central Service, a State Service, or a Central/State PSU. It also asks controlling authorities to treat other requests with utmost sympathy. Where a request cannot be accepted, the reasons are to be told to the employee, and complaints are to be decided at a higher level.

Key Highlights

This is a consolidated order for non-gazetted railway employees, issued in supersession of the Board’s letter dated 02.02.2010.
Both spouses in the same seniority unit: if they work in the same department and the required post is available, they should invariably be posted together, and neither should work as subordinate to the other.
Different seniority units: efforts are to be made to post both where posts exist, failing which change of category may be considered sympathetically.
Spouse in another Central/All India Service, State Service or PSU: the railway servant is to be posted at, or as close as possible to, the spouse’s place of posting.
The guidelines are illustrative, not exhaustive. Other requests are to be considered with utmost sympathy.
Where only the wife is a railway servant, the concessions apply to her.
If posts are available but the employee is not accommodated, the cadre controlling authority should strive to post the employee at the spouse’s station. If it cannot, specific reasons must be communicated to the employee.
Complaints of non-compliance are to be decided by an authority at least one level above the original decision-maker, where that authority is below SAG level/Head of PUs, and disposed of in a time-bound manner.
A separate register may be maintained at each Divisional and Zonal Headquarters for such transfer requests.
Gazetted officers continue to be governed by Railway Board’s letter No. E(O)III/2014/PL/05 dated 31.08.2015.
Past cases decided under the 02.02.2010 letter need not be reopened.

Situation	Spouse’s employer	What the RBE provides
(i)	Railway, same seniority unit	Invariably posted together, neither subordinate to the other
(ii)	Railway, different seniority unit	Efforts to post at the same station, otherwise sympathetic consideration of change of category
(iii)	All India Service / another Central Service	Posted in the Railway/Division/PU covering the spouse’s place/state, or as close as possible
(iv)	State Service	Same as above. If not possible, the request may be forwarded for sympathetic consideration
(v)	Central/State PSU	May apply for posting. Otherwise a closer place, or the PSU spouse’s application is forwarded

Eligibility

Based only on what the RBE says:

It applies to non-gazetted railway servants whose spouse is also working. The spouse may be a railway employee (same or different seniority unit), an All India Service or other Central Service employee, a State Service employee, or an employee of a Central/State PSU.
For spouses in the same department, posting together depends on the required level of post being available.
For situations (i) and (ii), the order is about spouses working in the railways. For situations (iii), (iv) and (v), it is about a railway servant whose spouse works elsewhere.
Where only the wife is a railway servant, the concessions apply to her.
Gazetted officers are not covered. Their posting continues to be governed by Railway Board’s letter dated 31.08.2015.
The RBE does not prescribe any qualification, length of service or selection method.

Our Opinion

This section is our own reading of the RBE and is not part of the official order.

For non-gazetted staff, this is a single reference point on spouse posting. It spells out what to expect in each situation and says that specific reasons may be communicated to the employee when the cadre controlling authority cannot post them at the spouse’s station. That should make decisions more transparent.
The wording is mostly “may be made” and “may be considered”. Only situation (i) uses “invariably”, and even that depends on post availability. So the outcome will still depend on vacancies and on the authority’s judgement.
The RBE does not mention an effective date, a timeline for deciding requests, or the format of the register. “Time bound manner” is also not defined.
Zonal Railways will need to apply these instructions in their own cadres, maintain the register at Divisional and Zonal Headquarters if they choose to, and make sure complaints reach the authority one level above. Employees should check their own Railway’s orders for the working details.

FAQ

Q1. Who does RBE No. 63/2026 apply to?
It applies to non-gazetted railway servants. Gazetted officers continue to be governed by the Board’s letter dated 31.08.2015.

Q2. Which earlier letter does it supersede?
It is issued in supersession of the Railway Board’s letter dated 02.02.2010.

Q3. What if the employee is not posted at the spouse’s station even though posts are available?
The cadre controlling authority should strive to post the employee there. If it cannot, specific reasons may be communicated to the employee.

Q4. Will past cases decided under the 02.02.2010 letter be reopened?
No. Past cases that may not conform to the modified instructions need not be reopened.

Disclaimer

This post is for information only. The ‘Our Opinion’ and FAQ sections are our own explanation of the RBE. Readers should refer to the official Railway Board letter and their Zonal Railway’s orders for authentic reference. Railway Niyam is an unofficial information-sharing platform. Please verify with the original orders before acting.