Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today accused the opposition of spreading misinformation and doing theatrics to demotivate loco pilots. Recently, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi reportedly met some loco pilots of Indian Railways at the New Delhi railway station and alleged that they are facing plights and are forced to work 16 hours a day. 

Without naming Mr. Gandhi, the Minister has given point-wise rebuttals to his allegations saying duty hours of loco pilots are carefully monitored and rest is provided meticulously after trips. He added that their average duty hours are maintained within prescribed hours and it is less than eight hours in June this year. Mr. Vaishnaw highlighted that only under exigencies, does the trip duration exceed the prescribed hours.

The Minister added that before 2014, cabs were in very bad shape but now they have been improved with ergonomic seats, and over seven thousand loco cabs are air-conditioned. He also said new locomotives are manufactured with AC cabs. Talking about off-duty resting facilities for loco pilots, the Minister observed that the running rooms were in very bad shape before 2014. But now almost all running rooms are air-conditioned. 

In many running rooms, foot massagers are also provided. Mr. Vaishnaw also informed about the recruitment and stated that in the past few years, major recruitment exercises were completed and 34 thousand running staff have been recruited. He further said that the recruitment process for 18 thousand running staff is currently in process. The Minister asserted that the attempt to demoralise railway families with fake news will fail.