Lok Sabha Question No. 378 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-07-24
Subject: Overhauling of Working Conditions of Railway Workers
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Manickam Tagore B

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 378 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2024

## OVERHAULING OF WORKING CONDITIONS OF RAILWAY WORKERS

378. SHRI MANICKAM TAGORE B:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that the railway workers have sought overhaul of working  conditions  as  they  work  in  hostile  environments  without  basic facilities;
- (b) whether track maintainers walk upto 20 kms. each day and Travelling Ticket Examiners face intimidation by ticketless and intoxicated travellers;
- (c)  whether the loco pilots were forced to work restless due to a large number of unfilled vacancies of loco pilots;
- (d) whether women gatekeepers have been demanding not to get posted in remote locations due to fear of sexual assaults; and
- (e) if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY TO PARTS  (a) TO (e) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.378 BY SHRI MANICKAM TAGORE B TO BE ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  24.07.2024  REGARDING  OVERHAULING OF WORKING CONDITIONS OF RAILWAY WORKERS

(a) to (e): There has been constant endeavour by the Indian Railways to improve  the  working  conditions  of  the  Railway  workers.  Several  steps have  been  taken  for  improvement  of  working  condition  of  loco  running crew and  initiatives  taken  for  improvement  in  safety  of  train  operation which are as follows: -

- (1) Improvement in  locomotives  for  the  comfort  and  for  easing  out duties  of  loco  running  staff :-

Considering the tough duties of loco running staff, number of steps have been initiated and executed which are as  under :-

- Production  of  three  phase  locos,  having  ergonomic crew friendly  design features like better seat and drivers desk for better  comfort  of  loco  and  assistant  loco  pilot,  has    been increased in  past  10  years  i.e. since  2014,  7,286  three phase  locos  have  been  manufactured  as  against  719 prior
- a. to 2014.
- b. All new locos manufactured are provided with air-conditioned cabs since 2017-18. So far more than 7,000 locos have been provided with air conditioners.
- c. All new locos being manufactured are provided with Vigilance Control Devices (VCD) as a technological aid to  monitor  and warn      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.
- d. A    portable    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.
- e. Retro-reflective  strip  in  sigma  shape  have  been  provided two  masts  prior to stop  signals  on  all  the  Zonal  Railways for  easy  identification of stop  signal  during  foggy  weather as  an  aid  and  for  reducing  stress  on  loco  pilots.
- (2) Improvement in  quality  of  rest  of  running  staff  at  Running Rooms :-

A    number    of    steps    have    been    taken  in  the  last  10  years  to improve the quality  of    rest    of    the  running    staff    which  are  as under :-

- a. All 558 running rooms have been air-conditioned.
- b. Running staff are also provided with Yoga  and meditation room, reading  room   with  newspaper and magazines for
3. relaxing  in  accordance  with  their  requirements.
4. c.
5. Provision for good quality subsidized meal in running rooms.
- d. Availability of RO water filters in running rooms.
- e. Separate room for female crew.
- f. Loco pilots have to keep a continuous watch on track and signals  involving  long  hours  of  standing  in  cab.  Based  on CAMTECH  report,  facilities  like  foot  massager  etc.  are made  available  in  running  rooms  for  giving  loco  pilots proper rest.
- (3) Other    technological    aids    for    improving    safety    in    train operation :-
- a. 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.
11. 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
- b. copy.
- (4) Other  measures  for  improving  safety  in  train  operation :-
14. Various  safety  drives    &  special  counseling    programs  are regularly  organized  for  checking  the  alertness    and    safety 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
- a. rest  in  life of running staff.
- b. Special drives are launched regularly to counsel running staff to boost their morale and confidence.

Duty  hours  of  Loco  Pilots  and  Assistant  Loco  Pilots  are  governed  by Railway  servants  (Hours  of  Work  &  Period  of  Rest)  Rules  2005.  Duty hours,  numbers of night duties, facility  for  out-station  rest,  number  and hours of rest at headquarter are well defined and monitored closely.

Track maintainers have also been provided various facilities like Retroreflective  Safety  Jackets  (Luminous  Vest),  Safety  Shoes,  Clothing  like Winter Jackets, Trousers, Gloves, Snow Boots, Caps, Rain Coat with Hood and  Water  Proof  Trousers,  Water  Bottle,  Safety  Helmet,  two  pairs  of Shirts and Trousers, Light Toolkit Bag, Gang Tools cum Rest Room, Gang Huts, Toilets facilities at Manned Level Crossings, etc. To avoid long walk/travel by the Track maintainers, normally the beat of Track  maintainers'  gang  is  kept  upto  8  km  and  headquarters  of  Track maintainers as well as their toolbox are located within gang beat. The cases of the incidents of intimidation of TTEs are registered by GRP and legal action is taken against the offenders as per law. Considerate  view  is  taken  for  posting  of  women  gatekeepers  and  the matter related to sexual assault is dealt as per laid down norms. Occurrence and filling up of vacancies are continuous process on Indian Railways  considering  its size, spatial distribution and  criticality of operation.  Adequate  and  suitable  manpower  is  provided  to  cater  to  the regular operations, changes in technology, mechanizations and innovative practices. The vacancies are filled up primarily by placement of indents by Railways with Recruitment agencies as per operational and technological requirements. After easing of restrictions imposed on account of COVID 19, two major examinations  involving  more  than  2.37  crore  candidates  have  been conducted successfully. Computer Based  Test (CBT)  exam for  more than  1.26  crore  candidates was conducted in 7 phases from 28.12.2020 to 31.07.2021 in 133 shifts in 68 days across 211 cities and 726 centres. Similarly,  CBT  was  conducted  for  more  than  1.1  crore  candidates  in  5 phases from 17.08.2022 to 11.10.2022 in 99 shifts in 33 days across 191

cities and 551 centres.

Based  on  these  exams,  1,30,581  candidates  have  been  recruited  in Railways.

The RRB examinations are quite technical in nature entailing large scale mobilization  of  men  and  resources  and  training  of  manpower.  Railway overcame all these challenges and successfully conducted the recruitment  in  a  transparent  manner  following  all  laid  down  guidelines. No instance of paper leakage or similar malpractice has occurred during the entire process.

Recruitment  done  in  Indian  Railways  during  2004-2014  vis-à-vis  during 2014-2024 is given as under :-

| Period   | Recruitments   |
|----------|----------------|
| 2004-14  | 4.11 lakh      |
| 2014-24  | 5.02 lakh      |

Further, as system improvement, the Ministry of Railways has introduced a  system  of  publishing  annual  calendar  this  year  for  recruitment  to various categories  of Group  'C' post. Accordingly, four Centralized Notifications  (CENs)  for  32,603  vacancies  have  been  notified  during January  to  March  2024  for  filling  up  of  posts  of  Assistant  Loco  Pilots, Technicians,  Sub-Inspectors  &  Constables  in  Railway  Protection  Force (RPF). The introduction of annual calendar will benefit the aspirants in the following manner: -

-  More opportunities for candidates;
-  Opportunities to those becoming eligible every year;
-  Certainty of exams;
-  Faster Recruitment process, Training and Appointments

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