Latest news with #ALPs
Hindustan Times
13-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Railway Ministry reduces paperwork of running staff during train operation to enhance safety
New Delhi, Assistant loco pilots are now not required to burden themselves by noting down in their crew diaries the timings of each and every intermediate station during the running of trains following a recent decision of the Railway Ministry to enhance safety. The ministry, which had constituted a committee to assess measures for reduction of paperwork for loco pilots and assistant loco pilots, accepted many of its recommendations and advised through a recent written circular addressed to all zones to take necessary steps in this regard. The ministry has retained the current practice of not assigning any writing work to the loco pilots when he is operating the train. At the same time, it has limited the writing work of assistant loco pilots so that they can focus more on train running and coordinating with the loco pilots. According to the circular, the ALPs will write down loco, train, crew details and orders related to speed restrictions, scheduled stoppages of the train with timings in case of passengers trains among other details before the start of the train departure. It further said that once the train operations starts, the ALP will note down the actual timings of stopping stations , enroute abnormalities and unusual detention in crew diary/log book . 'At present, the ALPs note down the time a train passes through every station. However, once these recommendations are implemented, the ALPs will only need to record the timings of scheduled train halts and not the crossing times of intermediate stations where the train is not scheduled to stop,' said a senior loco pilot. The ministry, along with the circular, has also released a format of a crew diary as well as log book making them more simpler and easier for the running staff to follow. 'The requirement for manual entry of energy consumption and regeneration readings in CMS by crew has been dispensed with and may not be noted by crew any further,' the ministry's circular said. 'Crew diary shall be issued to loco pilots and the retention period for crew diary shall be 1 year, except in case of accidents/inquiries, where it shall be retained till finalisation," it added. The loco pilot unions have welcomed the ministry's initiatives. However, they demanded that their other issues be resolved to enhance safety. 'The railway is being augmented to increase the speed of the trains. Hence, the crew will naturally be required to have a higher level of concentration on signals and safety related issues,' said R Kumaresan, president, Southern Railway, All India Loco Running Staff Association . 'We welcome the move to reduce the ancillary activities, but at the same time the railway also should address the loco pilots issues such as weekly off, continuous night duty limited to two nights etc. to improve the safety,' he added. A section of the loco pilots have also demanded absolving the responsibilities of the crew of court cases involving human run over or passengers falling down from the trains as such cases require not only a lot of paperwork but also record keeping for several years. 'At present, we are supposed to keep a crew diary for three years, but the current recommendations have reduced it to one year only. Now, if any controversy crops up during a legal matter after two or three years, what will the loco pilot do? I request the Railway should absolve the running staff from all court cases,' said a senior loco pilot requesting anonymity.
Time of India
28-04-2025
- General
- Time of India
Loco pilots protest panel report on working conditions
Madurai: The running staff—loco pilots and assistant loco pilots—of the Southern Railway Mazdoor Union (SRMU) held a protest on Monday, condemning the Railway Board's multi-disciplinary committee report, which ruled out their demand for breaks during duty hours to have food and attend to nature's call. According to loco pilots, they are not allowed to have food in the loco cabin and hardly get 30 seconds during stoppages to attend to nature's calls. Some of the superfast express trains travel non-stop for 200 to 300km, making their plight unbearable. "For instance, the stop between Chennai Central and Vijayawada is nearly 430km, and the running staff don't get any break to have food or attend to nature's call. The situation turns worse when there are women crew," said SRMU's assistant divisional secretary Ramkumar. The running staff also opposed the committee report proposing to replace the co-pilot in high-speed trains with assistant loco pilots. High-speed trains, plying at 130kmph, require two seasoned loco staff, and by appointing ALPs in place of co-pilots, the board is endangering the safety of trains, they said. The protesting running staff also demanded the board reduce their working hours to six hours, like controllers who work only six hours since their job roles are classified as an intensive category. The loco staff pointed out that they also undertake such intensive jobs of operating locos non-stop and are forced to work for 11 to 12 hours, especially in goods trains. They also demanded the removal of CCTV cameras fixed inside loco cabins, reasoning that it puts them under the pressure of being watched throughout their work hours.
