Southern Railway’s move to hire retired loco pilots draws flak

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The Southern Railway’s proposal to rope in retired loco pilots for shunting coaches has been strongly condemned by loco pilots and social activists for its potential safety risks. Moreover, due to the rise in vacancies for the posts of loco pilots, the Southern Railway has not been able to increase the number of suburban, and mail and express train services.

The Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) is an instance where train services could not be increased due to the lack of loco pilots. Despite the formulation of a new time table with increased services in April this year, it could not be implemented by the Chennai Division. S. Srikrishnan, a regular MRTS commuter from Taramani, said the new schedule could not be implemented from May 1 as planned, causing office-goers hardships.

In a notification issued to all the General Managers on August 19, the Railway Board had recommended the re-engagement of retired railway staff on a contract basis for filling up the vacancies for loco pilots, assistant loco pilots (both diesel and electric), and train managers. However, it also categorically said that these staff would be used only for the shunting and siding operation of the trains, and only after being certified as medically fit.

V. Balachandran, central organising secretary of the All India Loco Running Staff Association, condemned the delay in the filling of the vacancies. He pointed out that a notification was issued in January last year, advertising 5,696 vacancies for loco pilots, which has now increased to 18,799.

Loco pilots, staging protests at various railway stations, said while on the one hand the recruitment of loco pilots was progressing at a slow pace, on the other, they were suffering from denial of leave, and stress due to excess work and continuous night duty. They pointed out that rather than speeding up the recruitment process,the Railway Boardopted to re-engage retired loco pilots, which carried a potential risk on the safety front.

R. Pandiaraja, a former member of the Zonal Railway Users’ Consultative Committee of Southern Railway, said owing to the shortage of loco pilots by 22%, special trains could not be operated and the introduction of new trains had been completely stopped.

M. Senthamil Selvan, Chief Public Relations Officer of the Southern Railway, confirming that the Railway Board had proposed to re-engage retired railway staff to fill the vacancies on a temporary basis, said the move was only a stop-gap arrangement as the recruitment process of loco pilots was over. Since the new recruits had to go through a long and rigorous training programme, retired railway staff would be hired to fill the posts until the recruits were ready to take charge, he said.