What loco pilots told Rahul Gandhi during meeting with him at New Delhi Rly station

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Friday met the loco pilots at the New Delhi Railway Station here and listened to their grievances and assured to take up their demands with the government.

During his visit to New Delhi Railway station, Gandhi met around 50 loco pilots from all over India, who presented their issues in front of him. The loco pilots mainly complained of inadequate rest, Congress party said in its post on X.

Loco pilots said that they had to run the trains over long distance and are often pressed into duty without sufficient breaks causing stress and lapses in concentration which are major cause of accidents.

While sharing their grievances, the loco pilots said that the Railways Act 1989 and other rules already provide for 30 + 16 hours of rest per week, which is not being implemented.

Besides rest, the loco pilots also said that their other demand was that two consecutive night duty should be followed by one night of rest and trains should have basic amenities for drivers.

According to the loco pilots, over the past four years, the railways recruitment board has not recruited even a single loco pilot despite tens of thousands of vacancies. The pilots expressed their fear that this deliberate move is a plan by the Modi government to privatise the Railways.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi assured the loco pilots that he has been consistently raising the issue of railway privatization and lack of recruitment.

He listened to their concerns and fully supported their demand for adequate rest and expressed hope that this would significantly reduce accidents. As Leader of the Opposition, he promised to take up their demands with the government.

Rahul said, "Today I met 50 loco pilots from across the country in New Delhi. They have the responsibility of thousands of train passengers on their shoulders every day. But, this backbone of the country's transport is a victim of the government's neglect and injustice - they are forced to work without proper rest and respect."

Rahul said further, "After listening to their problems, I assured them that I will raise their voice - I have done it before as well, and will continue to do so until they get justice."