Railways to fill 18,799 vacancies for assistant loco pilots

Amid an increasing number of major train accidents and pressure from trade unions to fill vacancies in the safety categories, the Railway Ministry has notified recruitment for 18,799 posts of assistant loco pilots in 16 zones across the country.

According to Railways sources, the number of vacancies notified for the recruitment in January was only 5,696. However, a revised recruitment order was issued on Tuesday, increasing the number of posts to 18,799, much to the relief of loco pilots who have been demanding that the huge number of vacancies be filled.

Soon after the Railways notified recruitment to 5,696 posts of assistant loco pilots in January, the All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA) made representations to the Railway management expressing concern that the crew was being overburdened due to the shortage of staff and forced to work more than 12 to 20 hours at a stretch which was detrimental to train operations.