Loco Pilots are important members of Indian Railway family who play pivotal role for moving passenger and goods traffic in safe and efficient manner. Indian Railways is committed to ensure proper working conditions for loco pilots.

Loco Pilots are classified under Continuous Category. Section 132 (2) of Railway Act,1989, prescribes duty hours of 54 hrs on an average in a two-weekly period of fourteen days for staff working under Continuous category. Rule 8 of “Hours of Work and Period of Rest” (HOER),2005 lays down the guidelines of duty hours of 52 Hrs on an average in a two-weekly period of fourteen days per week for Loco Pilots i.e., duty hours are less than max. hrs of 54 for other “Continuous” category employees on Indian Railways.Loco Pilots are also compensated for extra working hours as per the rates specified in Section 132 of the Railway Act, 1989.

Loco Pilots are given Head Quarter rest, Out Station Rest and Periodic Rest as under :

 

Head Quarter Rest

HQ rest of 16 hours is given after a running staff member reaches their HQ, and periodic rest of 30 hours or 22 hours (as and when due) is provided as per Rule 133 of the Railway Act, 1989. Since periodic rest is also an HQ rest, the requirement for 16 hrs HQ rest is fulfilled during periodic rest.

Out Station Rest

Out station rest is also given when a driver completes his outward journey and it is as under:-

 

Duty Hrs	Rest
For duty less than 5 hours	Equivalent to the hours of duty performed + 1 hours
For duty 5- 8 Hrs	6 Hours
For Duty 8 Hours or more	8 Hours

 

Periodic Rest

Sections 133 of Railway Act,1989 and Rule 12 of HOER,2005 lays down the guidelines for Periodical rest of Running staff.  These stipulates that running staff be granted, each month, a rest of at least five periods of not less than twenty-two consecutive hours each, or a rest of at least four periods of not less than thirty consecutive hours each including a full night.

Based on High Power Committee recommendations, duty hours of Loco Pilots were reduced in 2016. As per these recommendations, SignOn to Sign Off duty of 10 Hrs was reduced to 9 Hrs and also 10+2 Hrs of duties were reduced to 9+2 hours. The running hours of Loco Pilots are meticulously monitored. Except for exigencies, the running hours are maintained.

For improvement of working conditions of loco running crew, following measures have been taken in respect of the Running rooms:

• All 558 running rooms have been air-conditioned.
• Running staff are also provided with Yoga and meditation room, reading roomwith newspaper and magazines for relaxing  in  accordance  with  their  requirements.
• Loco pilots have to keep a continuous watch on track and signals involving long hours of standing in loco while driving unlike aeroplanes and road vehicles.  Therefore, foot massager etc. are made available in running rooms for giving proper rest to loco pilots.
• Provision for subsidized meals in running rooms.
• Availability of RO water filters in running rooms.

 

Further, steps and initiatives taken for improvement of working conditions of loco running crew as under:

 

• Ergonomic crew friendly design features like better seat and driversdesks for better comfort of loco pilotshas been provided. Since 2014, 7,286 three phaselocos with these facilities have been manufactured as against only 719 locos prior to 2014.
• All new locos are provided with air-conditioned cabs since 2017-18. So far more than 7,000 locos have been provided with air conditioners.
• Fitment of Vigilance Control Devices (VCD) as a technological aid to  alert   loco  pilots  in  case  of  loss  of  alertness  while  driving. Since 2014, VCD has been provided in more than 12,000 (10,521 Electric +1,873 Diesel) locos.
• Fitment of GPS  based  Fog safe  Device (FSD)  is  being  provided  to  loco  pilots  as  a technical aid  for  displaying and announcing the name and distance of  approaching  signals  and  important  landmarks.  Since 2014, 21,742 nos. FSDs have been provided in IR.
• Simulator based training for improving the driving skills and the reaction time of Loco Pilots is being emphasized and simulator training facility is increased significantly.
• Mobile Application named ‘Chalak Dal’ has been developed for the facilitation of crew.  The App has been modified in 2023, to enable crew  to  access  all  his  details  related  to  running  duties, sign on / sign  off,  loco  trouble  shooting  directory  and  other  documents required  during  train  operation  which  otherwise  were  required  to  be  carried  in  hard  copy.
• Various safety drives& special counseling programs are regularly organized for checking the alertness andsafety awareness  among  the  running  staff. Special safety  seminars&  meetings  are also organized for interaction with family members of running staff for educating  on  role  of  quality  rest  in  life  of  running  staff.
• Special drives are launched regularly to counsel running staff to boost their morale and confidence.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronic & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

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