Hundreds of job aspirants from Tamil Nadu disappointed as RRB cancels exam at the last minute

The last-minute cancellation of Computer-Based Test II for the recruitment of Assistant Loco Pilots by the Railway Recruitment Board on Wednesday (March 19, 2025) left hundreds of job aspirants from Tamil Nadu in the lurch in Hyderabad.

The job aspirants endured numerous difficulties, including sleepless travel in crowded unreserved coaches for more than 20 hours from various parts of Tamil Nadu to reach Hyderabad on short notice, all with the hope of fulfilling their dream of securing a railway job. Not just their pain, but the huge expenses incurred for travel, food, and accommodation also went to waste as they were met with locked gates at the exam centre in Hyderabad.

The Computer-Based Test II was scheduled to be held at 2.30 p.m. As the engineering graduates started arriving at their respective examination centres at the reporting time of 12.30 p.m., they were not allowed into the campus.

“We were shocked to hear an announcement over the public address system that the examination had been cancelled,” said a youth from Madurai. The candidates, however, stood outside the centre for more than an hour just to confirm that the announcement was genuine.

“Hundreds of us began travelling from different districts in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday (March 18, 2025) morning to reach Chennai. We took another train to reach Hyderabad. After at least 20 hours of travel and spending a lot of money, the officials made an announcement of cancellation at the last minute,” another youth from Tiruchi district said.

The youngsters said around 50,000 candidates had appeared for CPT-I conducted by RRB Chennai and RRB Thiruvananthapuram, in Tamil Nadu. “Around 6,000 of us who got shortlisted for CPT-II were allocated centres outside Tamil Nadu. This is the root cause of all the trouble we have faced today,” a youth said.

Travel on short notice

For the exam that was to be held on Wednesday, the hall tickets were issued only on Saturday (March 15, 2025), the aspirants said. “We could not even get train tickets. The railway authorities could have at least operated special trains to help us, as thousands of us were travelling to Hyderabad, Secunderabad, and Vijayawada,” one of the candidates said

One of them had to cancel three Tatkal tickets as he could not secure a berth. While some of them had shelled out ₹1,500 for the bus journey from Chennai to Hyderabad, others, who could not afford it, had to fight for space in the cramped unreserved coaches.

After reaching Hyderabad at 8 a.m. the job aspirants travelled by autorickshaws and Metro trains to reach their centres, only to find that the exam was cancelled. The youth had a difficult time in getting leaves for three days from the private companies they were working at. “I have also incurred losses because of the closure of my shop for three days to attend this exam,” another youth said.

While dispersing from the exam centres, the aspirants were faced with another harsh reality: the journey back to their homes. “While coming to Hyderabad, we had come by different trains in the last two days. But now, as all of us will be returning en masse, it will be worse,” another youth said.

Another major concern for the disappointed job aspirants is when and where the cancelled exam will be conducted next. “Because of the bungling by the Railway Board today, we will have to undergo the same ordeals again in the near future,” one of them rued.

Madurai MP flays RRB

Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan has accused RRB of “gross negligence” in not conducting the examination as per schedule, despite forcing the job aspirants to travel over 1,500 km. He sought a detailed inquiry into the “technical glitch,” which reportedly led to cancellation of the exam.

He recalled that the demand to conduct the exam within Tamil Nadu was not met by the RRB, which claimed that it could not find centres for conducting the exams in the State.

“The cancellation of exam has caused a furore among the job aspirants,” the MP said in a social media post. “This has raised a serious question over the credibility of Railway Recruitment Board,” Mr. Venkatesan said.

He also demanded that the Railways compensate the youth for the inconvenience caused to them by the RRB. He further demanded that the Railway Board and RRB conduct CPT-II in Tamil Nadu next.