Deepak Kumar Jha Moves to Railway Board as Additional Member (Commercial)

Deepak Kumar Jha, an Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer, has been transferred to the Railway Board and appointed as Additional Member (Commercial). He was previously posted as Principal Chief Safety Officer (PCSO) at East Central Railway (ECR). Moving from a safety-centred field role to a commercial position at the board level marks a considerable change in Jha's day-to-day responsibilities. As Principal Chief Safety Officer, he oversaw accident prevention, conducted safety audits, and managed operational risk across ECR's rail network — work that demands both procedural discipline and real-time operational judgment. The Additional Member (Commercial) at Railway Board handles commercial policy across the national network, covering freight and passenger revenue strategy, tariff-related matters, and performance coordination with zonal railways. IRTS officers, whose training centres on traffic operations and commercial management, are well-suited to such board-level roles given their grounding in revenue functions. East Central Railway, based in Hajipur, Bihar, is one of the country's heaviest freight corridors, with coal and mineral traffic making up a large portion of its load. Jha's years as PCSO on that network gave him direct exposure to dense, high-volume operations — experience that will carry into his commercial work at the national level. The posting follows Railway Board's standard practice of moving senior IRTS officers from field roles into policy positions. Jha's career path mirrors the service's typical progression from operational postings to apex-level administrative responsibilities.