New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday accused the Opposition of trying to demotivate Loco Pilots. He also categorically said Loco Pilots are important members of the Railway family.
In a post on X, the Minister said, "The attempt to demoralise railway family with fake news will fail. The entire rail parivar is united in serving our country (sic)."
Highlighting the steps taken by the Railways to improve the working conditions of loco pilots, Vaishnaw said, "There is a lot of misinformation and theatrics by Opposition to demotivate our Loco pilots. Improved working conditions, and duty hours of loco pilots are carefully monitored. Rest is provided meticulously after trips. The average duty hours are maintained within the prescribed hours. The average is less than 8 hours in the month of June this year. Only under exigencies, the trip duration exceeds the prescribed hours."
The Minister further wrote, "Pilots operate locomotives from loco cab. Before 2014, cabs were in very bad shape. Since 2014, cabs have been improved with ergonomic seats, and more than 7,000 loco cabs are air-conditioned. New locomotives are manufactured with AC cabs."
The issues of Railways Loco Pilots, who drive trains, took centre stage since the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met Loco Pilots at New Delhi Railway Station last week. Rahul Gandhi assured them to take up their demands and issues in Parliament.
"When pilots complete a trip, they come to the running room for rest if they are out of headquarters. Before 2014, running rooms were in very bad shape. Almost all (558) running rooms are now air-conditioned. In many running rooms, foot massagers are also provided. Incidentally, this was criticised by Congress without understanding the working conditions of loco pilots," Ashwini Vaishnaw wrote.
Regarding the recruitment issue, Vaishnaw wrote, "In the past few years, major recruitment exercise was completed and 34,000 running staff have been recruited. The recruitment process for 18,000 running staff is currently in process."
