the commercial management section of Indian railways, under whom section controllers work, selects its officers from IRTS or Indian Railways Traffic Services. The selection of candidates to IRTS is through the highly competitive CSE exam (the same exam which also selects IAS, IPS, IRS etc officers). Some of the brightest minds of India compete tooth and nail in these exams, so the thinking that they don't get the best candidates is too deluded; IR actually get some of the brightest minds of our country, who join it willingly.