Safety at risk: Loco pilots warn overwork, fatigue could lead to operational breakdown

Indian Railways may be heading toward a major operational crisis, with a loco pilots’ association warning that rising fatigue levels and a widening vacancy could trigger a major breakdown, similar to the ongoing disruption in IndiGo, India’s biggest airline.

The All-India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA) has urged the government to apply to the Railways the duty-hour reforms introduced for airline pilots, arguing that loco pilots are facing identical pressures without the required protections.

'Loco pilots deprived of rest': Association to Vaishnaw

“Loco pilots are being deprived of their mandatory 16 hours of daily rest as well as the weekly rest of 30 hours. They are also denied the prescribed eight-hour daily duty limit and, although the law permits duty up to 12 hours, they are often compelled to work for unlimited durations under the threat of disciplinary action,” the association pointed out in a recent letter to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

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“Unlike other categories of staff who work only two night shifts a week, loco pilots are routinely booked for four consecutive night duties. They are frequently detained at outstations for more than three days at a time, while other staff return home daily and spend at least 16 hours with their families after each duty,” the letter added.

Loco pilots are being burdened more

The association further stated that, instead of easing the existing workload of the loco pilots, the Railways has shifted onto them numerous responsibilities that were previously handled by train examiners, engineering staff, and traffic personnel.

“In addition to all these, the overall working environment deteriorated further owing to a five-year recruitment ban that has created record-high vacancies, forcing each loco pilot to work nearly 20 per cent extra while sacrificing leave and rest,” AILRSA president R R Bhagat told The Federal.

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The Railways require 1.47 lakh loco pilots to operate safely and efficiently, but currently have only around 1.15 lakh, leaving close to 30,000 posts vacant, the association claimed.

The crisis is most visible in the Kharagpur Division of South Eastern Railway, where 35.6 per cent of loco pilot posts remain unfilled. Of the sanctioned 3,691 posts, only 2,376 are manned.

Loco pilots are being deprived of their mandatory 16 hours of daily rest as well as the weekly rest of 30 hours. They are also denied the prescribed eight-hour daily duty limit and, although the law permits duty up to 12 hours, they are often compelled to work for unlimited durations under the threat of disciplinary action.

Passenger trains in these parts routinely run two to two-and-a-half hours late, with drivers forced to operate without adequate rest between shifts.

'Taking sick leave is nearly impossible'

“The staff shortage is so severe that taking sick leave has become nearly impossible. Doctors at railway hospitals have been instructed not to prescribe medical rest,” alleged Vishnupada Patra, divisional secretary of AILRSA Kharagpur.

“We are working 12 to 18 hours instead of eight. We are being made to do four consecutive night shifts instead of two. This is unsafe for everyone.”

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The association says repeated attempts to push for reforms have yielded no results. Deputations, protests and even symbolic hunger strikes have failed to move the administration.

“Loco-running staff, the backbone of Indian Railways, have on several occasions, approached the Railway Board and concerned authorities through representations, delegations and discussions, seeking redressal of their genuine and long-pending grievances. However, despite several rounds of discussion and repeated assurances, no fruitful result has emerged so far. The continued apathy and neglect of the administration towards the just and legitimate grievances of loco-running staff have caused deep anguish and frustration among them,” the association’s letter to the railway minister read.

Rahul Gandhi facilitated meeting

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, facilitated a meeting between a delegation of loco pilots and Vaishnaw in August last year, but the Railway Ministry remained indifferent to the issues raised during the discussion, Bhagat added.

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To press for their demands, the AILRSA organised a 48-hour relay hunger strike beginning at 10 am on December 2.

“During this period, loco pilots continued to operate trains without taking any food, which led to the hospitalisation of some of the pilots,” the association said.

It emphasised that in the interest of safe train operations and overall public safety, it is essential to ensure adequate rest for the loco-running staff.

It urged the railway administration to grant 16 hours of ‘headquarter (HQ) rest’, along with the mandated 30-hour ‘periodical rest’, to ensure 16 hours of HQ rest with an additional two hours of 'call-book notice' time.

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It further called for restoration of the provision of eight hours of ‘outstation rest’, plus two hours of 'call-book notice' as previously approved by the Railway Board.

Overtime payments pending

The AILRSA president pointed out that even overtime payments have remained pending for months.

“In some cases, overtime dues have been outstanding for as long as six months,” Bhagat said.

They are now planning for a more intensified agitation. Its working committee will meet in Puri, Odisha, on January 28 and 29, wherein it will decide on the next course of action.