NEW DELHI: The derailment of a fully-loaded goods train on July 31 between Kodarma and Giridih in the Dhanbad rail division has prompted the All India Guards Council to raise safety concerns and renew its demand for urgent filling of vacant train manager posts, warning that such lapses pose a serious threat to passenger trains as well.The council said the derailment occurred due to the absence of a guard (also called a train manager) to assist or guide the crew of the train and protect its rear.The Dhanbad Division of the East Central Railway didn’t respond to the council’s claims.”When the train was proceeding in an upward direction on a gradient, the locomotive couldn’t pull its weight, and it started sliding back. There was no train manager in it.The loco pilot informed the station master, who decided to arrange an additional loco which could assist the train from behind,” D Biswas, General Secretary of the All India Guards Council, said.”Since the train was on a curve, the loco pilot couldn’t exactly tell the position of the brake van (the last coach meant for guards) and the additional loco coming to assist from behind collided with the brake, resulting in its derailment,” Biswas said.The council office bearers said an able train manager could have guided the additional locomotive properly, as such incidents are a safety hazard for rail operations.They referred to the General and Subsidiary Rules of the Railways, which entrust a train manager with the duty to protect the rear of the train.”The train manager has a crucial duty to play. In case any train, be it freight or passenger, stops in between two stations, its the duty of the train manager to not only protect the rear of his/her train but the incoming train as well by ensuring that the tail light is correctly exhibited and switch on flasher light to signal the incoming train of its unusual and unscheduled stoppage,” SP Singh, former General Secretary of the AIGC, said.He added, “The Railway norms also say that it is the duty of the guard to place detonators on the track between 600 and 1,200 metres away from his/her train on the same track to alert incoming trains.” The council said that due to several posts lying vacant, many divisions have to operate the freight trains with only a loco pilot and the assistant loco pilot, as their priority is passenger trains.Hence, guards are mandatorily provided in passenger trains, causing a shortage for freight trains.”As on December 31, 2024, 27.28 per cent of the positions of train managers were vacant in the Indian Railways,” Singh said.”The total sanctioned posts of train managers in the Indian Railway are 53,229. As of December 31, 2024, there were 38,709 train managers working, and 14,520 posts were vacant. It is not a safe practice to operate trains without a manager.We demand immediate filling of all posts in the interest of safe train operations.” According to Singh, Railways should realise that a freight train without a guard is a huge risk to passenger trains that share the same track.”In case a freight train stops due to a technical snag or any other reason in between two stations, it is a big safety hazard for the incoming passenger trains as the freight train is a potential threat to the lives of hundreds of passengers, Singh said.
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