Loco pilots demand proper rest time, hold protest in Chennai

CHENNAI: More than 500 loco pilots held a protest at Madras Moore Market Complex (MMC) railway station on Friday after Southern Railway took punitive action against around 100 of their colleagues for demanding the rest time eligible for them.
The protest was organised under the banner of All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA).
Loco pilots said they were forced to operate trains almost every day that too without the 10-hour at a stretch duty limit prescribed based on a recommendation of a high-power committee.
Currently, a loco pilot who starts a train operates it for around 12 hours, gets down at a station, takes rest for eight hours at a running room and returns by operating another train to the headquarters.
They are given a 16-hour rest before assigning the next duty. However, when it comes to weekly off, the daily 16-hour rest is also included in the off day and only 30 hours is allotted for off. Duty is allotted soon after the 30- hour break is over. “This leads to fatigue and lack of concentration which can impact safety,” said K Parthasarathy, joint general secretary , AILRSA, Southern Railway.
The other demands include limit continuous night duty to two and limit stay out of headquarters to 48 hours.
"Many accident inquiry committees have pointed out that more loco pilots joining duty after HQ rest are vulnerable to operational lapses than those joined after rest at outstation. This is because, the short rest of 16 hours after a long duty tour spread over 4/5 days, is being eaten up by his familial needs and hence rest is compromised. So HPC recommended to reduce out station stay from 96 to 72 hours immediately and further to 48 hours in 2020. This was also accepted by the Railway Board," said a statement from AILRSA.
"Technical advancements have helped railways multiply the number of trains, the load, length and speed of trains. This has a multiplying effect on the work pressure of loco pilots and also the possibility of turning every simple lapse into a serious accident. The High Power Committee of 2012 had identified the main reason of dampening concentration and causing micro sleep on duty is sleep debt and recommended limiting the continuous night duties to two. However, this is also not given,” it said .