D Sunil, IRSSE Officer, Appointed Divisional Railway Manager at Khurda Road
IRSSE officer D Sunil takes over as DRM of Khurda Road division.
D Sunil has been transferred to East Coast Railway and appointed Divisional Railway Manager of the Khurda Road division, moving from his previous posting in Southern Railway. He is an officer of the Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers.
The Khurda Road division is one of the key operational divisions within East Coast Railway, covering a significant stretch of Odisha's rail network and handling substantial passenger and freight traffic given the division's role connecting eastern India's rail corridors. A Divisional Railway Manager holds direct administrative and operational responsibility for all functions within the division, including train operations, safety compliance, commercial activities, and infrastructure maintenance, reporting to the zone's General Manager.
Sunil's background in the Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers is notable for a DRM appointment, since divisional management postings are drawn from across the various railway engineering and operational services, with signal engineering officers bringing particular expertise in train control systems, interlocking infrastructure, and the safety-critical signalling upgrades that have become a priority area for Indian Railways amid its broader push toward automated train protection systems following recent safety reviews.
Divisional Railway Manager postings are considered among the more consequential mid-to-senior career assignments within the Railway Board's officer cadre structure, since DRMs exercise direct operational control over a geographically defined section of the network and are held accountable for both safety performance and operational efficiency within their division, distinguishing the role from the more policy-oriented positions held at zonal or Railway Board headquarters level.
East Coast Railway has been expanding capacity along several of its key routes in recent years, including doubling and electrification projects, work that falls partly under the DRM's coordination responsibility at the divisional level alongside day-to-day operational management.
The transfer and posting order was issued through the Railway Board's standard cadre management process governing IRSSE officer postings across zones.
Signal engineering officers reaching DRM-level postings reflects a broader trend within Indian Railways of drawing divisional leadership from across its engineering services rather than restricting DRM appointments to operations or mechanical cadres alone, a shift that has coincided with the Railway Board's increased emphasis on signalling modernisation as a core safety priority across the network's busier divisions.
