The railway network received some 28 million online applications, the Times of India reported. However, railway officials predict that the number of applicants for the 90,000 positions will continue to increase until the Saturday deadline.
Jobs advertised include vacancies for 26,502 train drivers and technicians, as well as 62,907 positions for trackmen, welders and porters.
"We've not been recruiting for the last couple of years and attrition is already there. And so we require people," Ashwani Lohani, chairman of the railways board, told Reuters.
Earlier this month, the Indian government announced that would develop high-speed rail services into New Delhi. The high-speed trains will run at 100 mph, compared to the current 44 mph.
The first high-speed rail service, from Mumbai, the country's commercial capital, to Ahmedabad, India's fifth most populated city, is currently under construction.
According to Indian media, the state-owned railway network will likely add an additional 20,000 positions beginning next month.
Applicants are required to take an online examination, offered in 15 languages including Hindi, English, Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil and Telugu. Applicants must also pass a fitness test.
Indian locals who oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi have claimed that the administration is launching a recruitment drive a year before national electrons in order to obtain more support.
In 2014, when Modi was elected, he promised to create 100 million new jobs in India. His ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is currently running a social media campaign praising the recruitment drive.
Indian Railways consists of 75,439 miles of track, 7,172 stations and carries over 23 million passengers daily.
