Central Railway officials to interact with kin of motormen

Mumbai: In a bid to reduce incidents of trains jumping the red signal, the Central Railway (CR) has planned an interaction with the families of loco-pilots of outstation trains and the motormen of suburban services.

The CR will make the families aware of the importance of rest for motormen and loco-pilots so that they stay more focused on the job. The families will be advised against disturbing motormen while they are resting.

Senior deputy general manager of CR, who is also holding additional charge of divisional railway manager (DRM) of the Mumbai division, Sanjay Kumar Pankaj, on Thursday told The Asian Age, “We will apprise the family members of loco-pilots and motormen of the importance of rest for smooth operation of train services. We will inform the families about tasks which their husbands and heads of families are doing which need 100 per cent concentration and dedication so that they do not disturb the loco-pilots and motormen while taking rest at home.”

Mr Pankaj said that they would also ask family members about problems pertaining to the administration such as housing accommodation and resolve the same.

“We will also listen to their grievances, if any, and try to resolve them as soon as possible,” he added.   

The exercise is meant to bridge the gap between the railway administration and the loco-pilots and motormen.

The CR has 700 motormen and close to 600 loco-pilots. In the last one month alone, four cases of overshooting of the signal were reported in the CR.

Crossing a red signal is considered a serious offence in the railway. A red signal means another train is on the same track ahead of the local train.

In railway terminology, jumping of the signal is called ‘signal passing at danger’ (SPAD) where a motorman or a loco-pilot does not halt the train despite a red signal.