Five Railway Territorial Army units to be disbanded

“Ministry of Railways has decided disbandment of five Railway Engineers Territorial Army Regiments located at Jhansi, Kota, Adra, Chandigarh and Secunderabad”

File photo for representation. | Photo Credit: NISSAR AHMAD

The Ministry of Railways has decided to disband five Railway Engineers Territorial Army Regiments located at Jhansi, Kota, Adra, Chandigarh and Secunderabad, an official statement said Monday.

However, Railway Engineer Regiment (Territorial Army) located at Jamalpur will be retained for operational role along the route New Jalpaiguri-Siliguri-Newmal-Alipurduar-Rangiya, it said.

The Railway Territorial Army (TA) units were raised as an auxiliary force in 1949 under the Territorial Army Act, 1948, for maintaining rail communications in forward areas during active hostilities and maintenance of essential rail transportation in the country in peace time whenever required. These are manned primarily by the serving railway personnel with the help of small nucleus of permanent staff drawn from regular Army.

The Ministry said that a committee of three executive directors/principal executive director was constituted to review the existing functional establishment of six Railway Engineers Territorial Army Regiments.

The committee re-assessed the operational requirements of Railway TA Regiments.

"On the basis of the recommendations of the above committee and with the concurrence of the Ministry of Defence and Directorate General of Territorial Army, Ministry of Railways has decided disbandment of five Railway Engineers Territorial Army Regiments located at Jhansi, Kota, Adra, Chandigarh and Secunderabad. Retention of one Railway Engineer Regiment (TA) located at Jamalpur for the operational role along the route New Jalpaiguri-Siliguri-Newmal-Alipurduar-Rangiya (361 kms) to cover the critical rail link through Siliguri corridor and further up to Rangiya as proposed by Ministry of Defence," the statement said.

The disbandment process is to be completed by Directorate General Territorial Army within a duration of nine months from the date of issue of Ministry of Railways letter dated June 3, 2022, and the modalities for the same are to be worked out by DGTA in consultation with Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Defence, it said.