‘Life completely derailed’: INDIA bloc will raise rights of loco pilots in Parliament, says Rahul

Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi flagged the plight of loco pilots on Sunday. He asserted that the members of INDIA bloc will raise its voice in Parliament to improve their rights and working conditions. 

His remarks on social media platform X came after he shared a video of his recent interaction with the loco pilots at the New Delhi Railway Station.

“In Narendra Modi’s government, the train of the life of loco pilots has been completely derailed,” he said.

He stressed that the loco pilots are forced to work 16 hours a day sitting in cabins boiling with heat.

“The people on whom millions of lives depend have no confidence in their own lives. Deprived of even basic facilities like urinals, loco pilots have no limit on working hours and neither do they get leaves. Due to which they are getting physically and mentally broken and are falling ill,” Gandhi’s post said in Hindi.

Gandhi emphasized that forcing loco pilots to operate trains in such a situation endangers their lives and the safety of passengers. He assured that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) would advocate in Parliament for enhanced rights and improved working conditions for loco pilots.

“By watching this small discussion, you can also feel their pain,” Gandhi said as he shared the video of the interaction.

In the video, the loco pilots are seen complaining to Gandhi about lack of rest, no leaves, and “inhuman working conditions”.

The South Zone president of the All India Loco Running Staff Association handed a memorandum to Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, attributing recent train accidents to poor working conditions. R Kumaresan, who facilitated the interaction between Gandhi and the loco pilots at New Delhi Railway Station on Friday, informed PTI that they aimed to highlight the “serious safety issues” faced by both drivers and passengers.

The train drivers’ unions have disputed claims from the Railways that Gandhi met with loco pilots who were not from the Delhi Division and were brought in from other areas. Following Gandhi’s visit to the loco pilots’ crew lobby at New Delhi Railway Station, the chief public relations officer of Northern Railway, which oversees the Delhi Division, suggested that Gandhi seemed to have met pilots not associated with the station’s crew lobby.

During his visit on Friday, Gandhi engaged with a group of loco pilots who voiced their grievances about “inadequate rest due to understaffing.” He assured them that he would bring their concerns to Parliament. Party sources noted that Gandhi met around 50 loco pilots from across India at the New Delhi Railway Station, where they detailed their issues, primarily focusing on the lack of adequate rest.