The Railway Board has directed the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) to implement an alert system for crew controllers to notify them of any violations regarding continuous night duty for running staff, such as loco pilots.
According to the board’s guidelines, running staff should not be assigned continuous night duty for more than four nights, with the fourth night being reserved for duty at the headquarters. However, it has been noted that railways have been violating this rule by scheduling staff for more than four consecutive nights, due to the lack of alerts in the Crew Management System (CMS), as mentioned in a letter from the board dated December 26, 2024, addressed to CRIS’s managing director.
Reports from CMS for October, November, and December (to date) show that 1,360, 1,224, and 696 instances, respectively, involved loco pilots being scheduled for five or more consecutive nights.
The board has recommended that CRIS introduce alerts in the crew booking console for crew controllers. The alert should notify when a staff member has completed three consecutive nights outstation, with a message stating, “Three consecutive nights completed.” Additionally, if running staff have completed four consecutive nights, the system should generate an alert at the headquarters with the message, “Four consecutive nights completed.”
CRIS has been instructed to incorporate these alerts into the CMS application.
CRIS, an entity under the Ministry of Railways, is responsible for developing and maintaining software for various key railway functions, including operations, freight services, ticketing, and passenger services.
(With inputs from Agencies)
