NEW DELHI, Oct 13: Train drivers’ maximum working hours should not exceed 12 hours, subject to severe operational exigencies, the Railway Board said, while issuing consolidated guidelines to all the zones today regarding the duty hours of the running staff, including drivers and guards.
The new instruction, a compilation of the board’s various previous guidelines, aims at reminding zones to take care of the working and rest hours of the running staff to enhance operational safety.
However, the drivers’ association, the Indian Railway Loco Runningmen Organisation (IRLRO), has alleged there are riders in these instructions, which take away their right to proper rest and there is no provision for a lunch break during work.
One of the instructions of the board states the maximum working hours of a driver in one trip should not exceed 12 hours, however, another instruction asks them to work beyond the limits in case of operational exigencies, the association said.
“Running duty at a stretch should not ordinarily exceed nine hours. Such duty may extend further provided the railway administration gives at least two hours notice before the expiry of nine hours to the crew that they would be required to perform running duty beyond nine hours, with the stipulation that total duty from ‘sign on’ to ‘sign off’ shall not exceed 11 hours,” one of the instructions, says.
It adds, “In case the train doesn’t reach its destination, normal crew changing point or the point where the reliever has been arranged, within the overall limit of 11 hours, and such a point is approximately one-hour journey away, the running staff shall be required to work to that point provided the maximum hours in that trip doesn’t exceed 12 hours.”
The board also said that in severe operational exigencies “like acts of God, earthquakes, accidents, floods, agitations and equipment failures etc, the controller should suitably advise the staff that they may be required to work beyond the limits prescribed.”
Sanjay Pandhi, working president of the IRLRO said use of the word ‘exigencies’ in the working hours guidelines goes in favour of the Railways as taking passengers from one station to another is itself an ‘exigency’.
“In the guise of an exigency clause, drivers are often asked to work for 15 hours and even more. There is no proper guidelines on how to relieve a running staff and who has the final authority to relieve them from work,” Pandhi said.
Pandhi also shared a circular dated May 2023 of the Ahmedabad Railways Division regarding the crew’s excess working hours, which shows that 23 per cent crew worked beyond 12 hours.
“This is only from one division. The situation is almost similar in other divisions. Many accidents happened in the past only because the running staff was overworked,” Pandhi said.
He added, “In the consolidated guideline, there is no mention of a lunch break anywhere between the 12 hours of work. There are cases in which drivers had to take food while driving the train and they were chargesheeted by the authorities concerned for eating while driving.” (PTI)
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