Indian Railways says no to meals and toilet breaks for Loco Pilots  

The railroads defended the installation of a vocal and video recording system of the crew in locomotive cabins claiming that it was not a violation of privacy. File | Photo credit: Nagara Gopal

Indian railways have rejected a local

pilot request for a long time to provide a break to take meals and attend the call of nature in service. Accepting the recommendations of a high -level committee, the railway council said that breaks for the meal and participation in the call of nature was not possible on the operational level.

The decision comes in the midst of a growing major train accident across the country where human error was often attributed as a reason.

The railways also defended the installation of a vocal and video recording system of the crew in locomotive cabins claiming that it was not a violation of privacy. The installation would be used for help and support for the crew in post-event analysis.

“This does not cause any additional workload on the crew, it is only a tool to improve operational efficiency and ensure proper functioning of trains,” said the Railway Council in a communication issued to directors general of all zonal railways.

Improved high speed limit

On the recommendations of the multidisciplinary committee comprising five executive directors of the Railway Council and the Organization of Research Conceptions and Standards (RDSO), the Railway Research Branch, the definition of high -speed trains has been increased by 110 km / h existing at 130 km / h. The committee also recommended that an assistant locomotor driver will be deployed in the trains of the electrical multiple unit (Meu) of the main line operating for distances exceeding 200 km / h or more.

The All India Loco Running Staff Association condemned the decision of the railway council which was based on the recommendations of the multidisciplinary committee, which, according to the association, were not realistic and unfounded. In a letter to the Chief Executive Officer / President of the Railway Council, Ailrsa, Secretary General KC James, said the Committee failed to assess employment to assess the increase in the stress of loco drivers with the increase in speed from 110 to 130 km / h. The pure and simple refusal of the break for witnessing the call of nature without toilet in the locomotives was unacceptable, he said.

The secretary of the central organization of Ailrsa, V. Balachandran, said that many superfast trains had not been cast from about 6 to 7 hours. For example, a crew supporting the New Delhi-Chennai Tamil Nadu Express in Vijayawada at 11:10 p.m. must run the train without stopping until it reaches Chennai at 6:35 a.m. the morning the next morning. “The fate of women’s pilots is even worse. On high density routes, superfast express trains cannot be stopped in the stations of the average section or on the edge unless it is an emergency,” he said.

Mr. Balachandran argued that when a loco driver is unable to eat or control the call of nature, there would be a distraction compromising the level of vigilance. There have been several recommendations to examine the long hours of work of Loco pilots and their working conditions after the investigation into train accidents caused due to trains passing the signal in danger.

He said that the voice recording system and video of the crew in Loco Cabins was nothing other than an intrusion of privacy. The images were often used to punish loco pilots for body postures or even the gap by accusing them of not taking adequate rest before joining the duty.