Career Crash Fear Drives State Loco Pilots To Breakless Work

No toilets in cabins, loco pilots admit to using bottles, diapers to attend nature's call at work

- JOSE K JOSEPH @T'Puram

As Kerala gears up for Onam, major trains passing through the state are expected to see a surge in passengers. However, loco pilots – the people working behind the scenes, ensuring that the trains run safely and on time – continue to grapple with a basic problem: the absence of toilets in locomotive cabins.

Although the Railways claims to have fitted toilets in some locomotives, multiple sources and loco pilots told TNIE that no such trains are currently operating in Kerala. So, as passengers prepare for festive journeys, loco pilots often have to drive for long hours, holding back nature's call. Many admit to using bottles or adult diapers. Women pilots are especially vulnerable to urinary infections and kidney-related issues. However, the fear of compulsory retirement, that one of their colleagues went through earlier this year, keeps them going.