Hyderabad: Focusing on safety as the foremost priority for the railways, South Central Railway General Manager Vinod Kumar Yadav undertook an extensive Interaction Meeting with the Loco Running staff from all the six divisions of the Zone on Tuesday at Rail Nilayam in Secunderabad.
The Interaction, attended by 40 personnel working as Loco Inspectors, Loco Pilots and Assistant Loco Pilots from Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Nanded, Guntur and Guntakal Divisions centered on issues concerning accident free train operations and the view points of the Loco Running staff relating to the same.
Additional General Manager A.K.Gupta and Principal Heads of Departments representing Electrical, Operating, Mechanical, Personnel, Safety & Signal and Telecommunications were also present.
Addressing this first ever such Interactive Meeting, Vinod Kumar Yadav called upon each one of the Loco Running Staff who were present to spell out their ideas, suggestions and grievances without any apprehension since they are valued members of the rail family and play a key role in Safety of rail operations.
He assured of a very positive response from the administration to any issue concerning the career and welfare of the Loco Running staff on the Zone. In turn, he sought their 100% attention while performing their duties.
The General Manager advised them to exercise total alertness so as to avoid even a minor unsafe incident, since this impacts passenger Safety and also entails strict disciplinary action.
The Loco Running staff should take care of their health, rest adequately, meet family needs and relieve stress. Emphasizing the importance of the Loco Crew as eyes and ears of Rail Safety, Vinod Kumar Yadav wanted them to pro-actively report any unusual occurrence or defect they notice in the Track and Signaling system during the course of duty.
Likewise, the Loco Inspectors should closely associate with the Loco Pilots, understand their requirements, reach out to their family members and build a trustworthy bond with them, he opined.
During the course of Interaction, the 40 Loco Running staff personnel coming from various divisions expressed their view points with regard to their duties, career and welfare.
They put forth suggestions to draft more employees friendly duty charts, redress technical aspects concerning Signaling system, sought more co-ordination with the Operating control, wanted more continuous refresher training and more weather friendly conditions of the Loco cabins which will help them to perform to their peak.
They wanted that Drop Boxes be installed at the Crew Lobbies to ensure that their applications and representations are received and addressed promptly. The Loco staff also spoke on issues concerning their health needs, leave, rest and family requirements.
The General Manager responded positively and assured of action at the earliest. He instructed the Principal Heads of Departments to immediately take up the matters needing attention.
Later, Vinod Kumar Yadav held a Video Conference with all the Divisional Railway Managers and discussed on Safety, in the light of the issues that came to the fore in the Interactive session. He also presented Man of the Month Awards to Safety personnel.
A.K.Gupta laid thrust on the responsibilities of the Loco running staff and called upon them to perform without fail.
The other Principal Heads of Departments also spoke. Earlier, John Thomas, Chief Electrical Engineer welcomed the gathering and lauded the initiative of the General Manager for holding the Interactive meeting. (INN)