Fatigue among loco pilots behind train accidents; Rahul Gandhi supports better working conditions

Hyderabad: Lack of adequate rest among loco pilots is among the primary reasons for train accidents in India; this was the primary complaint put forward by many Indian Railways train drivers when they met Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Member of Parliament from Rae Bareli, on Friday.

Rahul Gandhi met around 50 loco pilots from all over India at the New Delhi railway station at 12:30 pm and they discussed major issues of being in a train crew.

During the interactions, the Congress leader said that most loco pilots complain of inadequate rest, a number one concern among everyone.

“They drive trains over long distances, far from home, and are often pressed into duty without adequate breaks. This causes great stress and lapses in concentration which is a major cause of accidents. This has been acknowledged by the railways in multiple reports including the recent probe into the accident in Visakhapatnam,” Congress members said.

In the accident in October 2023, a passenger train derailed after colliding with another resulting in 13 deaths. The collision happened when the train was travelling from Visakhapatnam to Rayagada.

Issues with equipment and crew are major reasons for train accidents

A look at the train accidents over the years showed how even a small technical issue can derail trains and kill hundreds.

In one of the worst train disasters in recent times, three trains collided at Balasore killing 287 on the spot. A CBI enquiry into the incident found that ‘wrong signalling’ was the cause. Multiple lapses in the signalling and the telecommunication department came to the fore. Three railway officials were arrested.

A recent major rail collision between a goods train and the Kanchanjunga Express on June 17 resulted in 10 deaths near Siliguri. Many questioned the government about the implementation of safety measures such as the much-hyped Kavach anti-train collision system.

Apart from the issues from the technical equipment running the railways, the responsibility of the crew also comes to the fore.

Regarding the Kanchanjunga Express, a majority of a probe team came to the conclusion that the rear-end dashing of the Kanchanjunga Express by the goods train may have occurred due to the failure of the goods train crew (driver, assistant driver and guard) to obey the rule of ‘passing the automatic signal at danger position’ and also ‘keeping the excessive speed of the train’.

Loco pilots demanded a weekly rest of 46 hours

In an informal discussion with Rahul Gandhi about their work, the loco pilots demanded a weekly rest of 46 hours. This would that a train driver returning home on Friday afternoon will return to duty no later than Sunday morning.

“The Railways Act 1989 and other rules already provide for 30 + 16 hours of rest per week, which is not being implemented. Airplane pilots typically also get this quantity of rest. They (the drivers) also demand that two consecutive nights of duty should be followed by one night of rest, and trains should have basic amenities for drivers,” the Congress members said.

‘No recruitment in the railways in four years’

The lack of rest is caused by understaffing due to the government halting all recruitment of loco pilots.

“Over the past four years, the railways recruitment board has not recruited even a single loco pilot despite tens of thousands of vacancies. The pilots expressed their fear that this deliberate move is a plan by the Modi government to privatise the railways,” the Congress members present at the meeting, said in a statement.

Rahul Gandhi assured the loco pilots that he has been consistently raising the issue of railway privatisation and lack of recruitment. He listened to their concerns and fully supported their demand for adequate rest. He expressed a hope that this would significantly reduce accidents. As Leader of the Opposition, he promised to take up their demands with the government.