New Delhi: Loco pilots and assistant loco pilots have expressed their concerns over using the Call Detail Record (CDR) analysis application. They alleged that the Railways does not have any concrete mechanism to keep strict check on data safety of Closed User Group (CUG) phones CDR.
The loco drivers said the Railways already keeps monitoring CUG phone use during duty hours by manual verification of compliance through physical inspections, and post-duty cross-checking of call records.
Expressing his views on the issue, Sanjay Pandhi, working president of the Indian Railway Loco Runningmen Organisation, told ETV Bharat, "First of all the Railways should have trust in its employees and only then it will progress. As per norms, loco pilots have to switch off their mobile phones on-duty rather than giving CUG numbers to us and implementing CDR analysis. It is better that the authorities take back these CUG numbers from us."
“In locomotives, there are already two other modes of communication available, Magnetophone and Walkie Talkie, to contact train guards and officials. If we keep our CUG phone off during the duty hours then it is better that the Railways takes it back from us,” Pandhi said.
Speaking on CDR issue, Ram Sharan, central president of All India Loco Running Staff Association, told ETV Bharat, “The Railways has already installed CCTV cameras in several locomotives to keep watch on drivers. What is the purpose of implementing the CDR system?”
“The Railways has only provided us CUG SIM, however, we have to use it in our own mobile phones. A few years ago, the staff had resisted using this SIM in their personal mobiles but they were forced to use it,” Sharan said.
Responding to a query in this regard, Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Northeast Frontier Railways told ETV Bharat, “There will be a senior official who will have login and password to use this system. If the Railways gets any complaint regarding misuse of CDR data then we will take action against it.”
“The CDR system will be introduced for the first time in NFR with an aim to prevent using mobile phones at locomotives during on-duty hours for the safety of train operations and passengers,” Sharma said.
According to CPRO NFR, this initiative, the first of its kind in Indian Railways, aims to ensure strict compliance with Railway Board guidelines regarding the use of mobile phones by Loco Pilots and Assistant Loco Pilots during duty hours.
The manual verification of compliance through physical inspections and post-duty cross-checking of call records was time-consuming, prone to human error and lacked real-time efficiency.
Elaborating it, assistant loco pilot Ashima told ETV Bharat, “As per norms train drivers have to keep their phones switched off. During duty hours, concerned officials check and make calls on our numbers to check whether it is off or on. The CDR system is not good.”
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