Railway loco pilots have demanded better working conditions, especially lower workloads, to help them fully comply with the Indian Railway’s efforts to improve safety and bring down instances of “Signal Passing At Danger” (SPAD) on the rail network.

At a recent convention in Jolarpettai that evaluated the outcome of the Railway Board-convened meeting on ‘SPAD’, the All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA) re-dedicated loco pilots and assistant loco pilots to the mandate of safety in day-to-day train operations, and at the same time, sought measures that would alleviate their work burden.
The AILRSA convention noted that SPAD instances were on the rise and called for “in-house” introspection to reduce these episodes that are the most common cause for mishaps, V. Balachandran, AILRSA Divisional Secretary said. The conference also called for inculcation of safe driving habits, especially observance of speed limits, strict adherence of signals.
The AILRSA wanted the key points of the “SPAD conference” implemented on a priority basis. Its demands include restriction of continuous night duties to 2-3 night cycles, 22-30 hours periodical rest to be modified as calendar day rest and reduction of duty time of Mail / Express crews to 6 hours.
AILRSA also wanted a six-hour cap on night duty rosters between 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and longer hours of goods train crews to be alleviated by arranging relief through road movement.
  • Convention calls for “in-house” introspection to reduce SPAD episodes
  • Calls for inculcation of safe driving habits