Southern Railway Faces A Major Loco Pilot Shortage; Pilots Overworked & Fatigued

Train journeys are meant to be a relaxing experience for many of us. Imagine sitting calmly and watching the world drift by. But the same can not be said for the pilots of our trains. According to recent reports, most train pilots in Southern Railway are overworked and are running high on fatigue while taking us to our destinations smoothly and safely. Here’s more on this.

Shortage Of Loco Pilots In Southern Railway

Night travel or long journeys on trains might make you excited, but the same cannot be said for locomotive pilots. They are fatigued, and it has been a long time since they had proper rest. According to The Times of India, a recent RTI report suggests that Southern Railway is short of 616 loco pilots. The Chennai division alone has 461 vacancies. Trichy and Salem divisions have 75 and 86 vacancies, respectively. Basically, it means that among the total 2047 loco pilot posts, 22.5% are vacant.

In short, this shortage of loco pilots means one thing. These train pilots are not getting their due leave. They work for extended hours and also lack proper rest between shifts. Despite all of this, the pilots work hard to ensure the safety of thousands of passengers every day. As per a Commissioner of Rail Safety (CRS) report, loco pilots are allowed to work only two consecutive nights. But the rail regulations allow loco pilots to work four consecutive nights. A loco pilot shared with Times of India that sometimes it does not even stop with four!

Also Read: IRCTC Launches New Food Plaza At Vadnagar Railway Station On PM Modi’s Birthday; Prices Start From ₹15

Locomotive Pilots Are Overworked & Stressed

K Parthasarathy, Joint Secretary of the Loco Running Staff Association, shared with Times of India that sometimes, when a train accident occurs, authorities often attribute the reason to ‘error in train working’ or ‘misinterpretation of signals by the driver’ without going into much detail. But the truth is that loco pilots are often stressed due to extended hours and a lack of proper rest, but it rarely gets mentioned in the reports. 

You would also like to know that in June 2024, railway authorities acknowledged that they needed 18,000 loco pilots and that the positions would be filled soon. But still, after a year, the recruitment process is yet to be completed. Moreover, several loco pilots work without any technological aid to reduce human error, and they work overtime. As per the rules, pilots with a six-day work week should get 30 hours of rest. But the authorities start calculating 30 hours from the time the duty of a loco pilot is over. This effectively reduces the rest time.

Southern Railway has acknowledged the shortage of pilots but mentioned that it does not affect operational efficiency. Recently, Southern Railway could not add additional trains to its fleet primarily because of the shortage of loco pilots, despite increasing demand. But reportedly, the authorities are in the process of recruiting 673 Assistant Loco Pilots (ALPs). Let’s see if the hiring changes the situation for the better.

Also Read: Southern Railway To Launch 1st Amrit Bharat Express On Sept 15; Check Route, Schedule & Key Details Here

What do you think of this situation of loco pilots in Southern Railway? Do share your opinions with us in the comment section below!

Cover Image Courtesy: @drmmadurai/ X