New Delhi, Jul 16 (PTI) The Railway Board has constituted a multi-disciplinary committee to look into the grievances of the loco pilots and guards raised by their respective unions and submit a report within a month.
The loco pilots’ unions have welcomed the Board’s decision which, they claimed, was prompted by recent train accidents and various opposition MPs, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, along with trade unions vociferously taking up their issues.
“The Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) have decided to constitute a multi-disciplinary Committee to deliberate, engage with federations and submit a holistic recommendation on the issues/grievances of loco running staff raised by recognised and un-recognised unions,” said an order dated July 11, 2024, issued by the Board.
According to the order, the committee will consist of five executive directors (EDs) from different departments of the Railway Board and one ED (traffic) from the RDSO (Research Designs and Standards Organisation).
The Board has nominated the ED/Traffic, RDSO “to deal with the cases involving the subject of aptitude test”.
The order has also mentioned the terms of reference of the committee, according to which the committee has to review issues such as – Legislation on break for a meal and attending nature’s call, duty hours, periodic tests and deployment of manpower and their utilisation”.
Change of definition of high-speed trains to 130 kmph from the existing 110 kmph and deployment of ALPs (Assistant Loco Pilots) in trains up to (including) the speed of 130 kmph are among the issues So far as the aptitude test (psychological test) of loco pilots and assistant loco pilots is concerned, the Railway Board has said that the committee will also look into the issues of whether “to make qualifying the aptitude test mandatory at the stage of promotion itself, ie, from LP (Goods) to LP (Passenger) and from LP (Passenger) to LP (Mail/Express)”.
The Board wants the committee to decide regarding the redeployment of drivers who have failed the aptitude test after SPAD (jumping of red signal).
“The Committee shall submit its report within one month from the date of constitution,” the order said adding, “The headquarters of the committee will be at New Delhi.” Over 17 Members of Parliament from the opposition parties had written to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighting various issues that affect the train drivers and result in red-signal overshoots as well as accidents.
After the loco pilot union, All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA), approached these MPs and requested them to bring their problems to the notice of the railway minister, five MPs wrote separate letters, while 12 sent a joint note recently demanding enhanced facilities and rest for train drivers.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also visited New Delhi Railway Station on July 5, 2024, to meet the loco pilots and raise their grievances, prompting the Railway Ministry to send its officials to give an ear to train drivers’ problems.
This was followed by a social media post by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw saying that the opposition is spreading a lot of misinformation to demotivate the loco pilots.
“I thank everyone who helped us in raising our issues. This is a welcome decision of the Railway Board and I am hopeful of a positive outcome,” R Kumaresan, President of the South Zone of the All India Loco Running Staff Association, said on the order.
The loco pilots’ unions said that recent accidents along with various opposition MPs and trade unions — All India Railwaymen’s Federation (AIRF) and National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) — raising their grievances had put pressure on the Board to come out with this decision. PTI JP RT RT
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