Days after Bengal accident, southern railway to fill 726 loco pilot vacancies

TWO days after a goods train collided with the Sealdah-Agartala Kanchanjunga Express near Rangapani railway station in West Bengal, claiming 10 lives, the Railway Board has approved the immediate filling of over 726 vacancies for loco pilots in Southern Railway.

-  B ANBUSELVAN

This is part of an initiative to fill 18,799 vacancies nationwide.

A group of loco pilots in Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been alleging that they are denied weekly off and leaves, and were forced to work consecutive night shifts for three to four days due to a shortage of drivers for the past two years. This, they argued, was impacting their mental health and thereby endangering passenger safety. In an order issued on Tuesday, the apex body of the Indian Railways increased the notified vacancies for the post of Assistant Loco Pilots by 508. Originally, 218 posts were declared vacant for train drivers in the Southern Railway, and this number has been enhanced following a request from the zonal railways, said the order.