BENGALURU: Indian Railways has now decided to bid goodbye to the colonial-era metal guard line boxes inside trains. They will be replaced with trolley bags for all loco pilots (LPs) and guards (train managers) which they need to carry around on their own.
An order issued by the Railway Board has called upon the general managers of all zonal railways to start implementing it with immediate effect.
The order, issued on July 19, 2024, by Pulkit Singhal, Director, Traffic Transportation, Railway Board, billed the present step as “a policy decision.”
As of now, the heavy metal box is loaded in both the engine room and the brake van by the ‘box boy’ just before the departure of any train, be it a mail, express, or goods train. Box boys are contracted staff and are paid a tiny sum for the job done.
The box contains critical equipment required in case of any emergency and daily necessities, including a walkie-talkie with a spare battery, red and green flags, a block working manual, a general rule book, a working time table, an accident manual, a performance book, an LHB coach resetting key, and ten detonators among other items. (A detonator needs to be set off from both ends of the train after a distance of 1,200 meters in case there is any mishap or breakdown of the train. This is to alert other drivers along the route that the train is stuck on the tracks.)
The move, proposed a few years ago, met with bitter opposition from guards and was stuck in litigation.
It was earlier contested by the All India Guards Council in the High Court through a petition on November 28, 2022. The court decided to go by the decision taken by the Central Administrative Tribunal. The Tribunal refused to give any directions to the Centre in this connection, thereby allowing the railways to take its own decision.
Not a good move: AILRSA
The proposal has not been welcomed by a leading organization of loco pilots, the All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA). Its Joint General Secretary, C Sunish, a retired senior loco pilot, told TNIE, “Loco pilots already carry three bags with them as a round trip generally takes three days, inclusive of rest. We carry a bag full of clothes, another with home food, and a smaller third one with a diary to mark the scheduled timing at each stop. This will only add to our burden and cause stress to us.”
He added that railways paid Rs 10 each time a box boy placed a box. “One person takes care of multiple trains. This would take away their jobs too,” he added.
