Indian Railway Announces New 13,000 Vacancies Amid Row Over Rising Train Accident
Indian Railway on June 19 announced over 13,000 new vacancies for assistant loco pilots. The government’s new announcement represents vacancies that are three times bigger than what it planned earlier. The Railway Board has approved 18,799 vacancies for assistant loco pilots (ALP), as per instructions sent to general managers of all Zonal Railways. This represents more than a threefold increase compared to the 5,696 ALP vacancies announced in January 2024.
The development notably came a day after the deadly train accident involving the Kanchanjunga Express and a cargo train in West Bengal, claiming several lives while injuring many. The Kanchanjunga Express was hit from behind by the goods train and the reason for the mishap was attributed to the crew’s lapse of the New Jalpaiguri Rail Division.
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The train accident had caused an uproar against the Railway ministry, with many calling for the resignation of the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who took charge for the second time after the BJP-led NDA returned to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The railway’s announcement came amid intense debate about the functioning of the Indian Railway following the spike in train crashes. According to a report by India Today, at last 638 train accidents had occurred between 2014-23 under the present regime.
Meanwhile, the board has also asked the zones to process the decision without delay. The posts are expected to be filled up within six months. The candidates need to pass written, aptitude, and medical tests, and then the loco pilots will have to undergo training process before their deployment.
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All India Loco Running Staff Association central organising secretary V Balachandran said that they had earlier sought an increase in ALP vacancies, and the board now approved it. “This will reduce the burden on the system to a certain extent. There is a need to review the present norm of manpower requirement considering the present rest demands and inter-railway transfer requests,” Times of India quoted V Balachandran as saying.
