Don’t distract crew on walkie-talkie, use only during emergency: SR
It also admits that it has become a habit for station staff to thoughtlessly pick up the walkie-talkie to speak to the crew, unmindful of what the latter may be involved with.
Rescue workers and police officials stand next to damaged coaches following a collision between two passenger trains in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh (Photo/Reuters)
CHENNAI: In the backdrop of the deadly train collision near Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh, officials of Southern Railway (SR) have given strict instructions to all station masters (SMs) in the zone to avoid unnecessarily communication with the train crew on walkie-talkies.
S Balaji Arunkumar, chief operation manager of SR, in his circular dated October 31 (copy available with DT Next), has instructed that SMs “shall refrain from communicating with the crew through walkie-talkie unless it’s necessary to avoid accidents/unusual occurrences or only when the Loco Pilot/Guard asks for any information”.
The circular read that SMs often communicated continuously with the crew through walkie-talkie “even when the train is entering/departing from the station, which may distract the working of the crew. This sort of communicating with the crew certainly is not conducive to safety in train operations”.
Reiterating strict compliance with these restrictions, the circular was issued in the backdrop of information trickling out of Vizianagaram that an unnecessary message communicated by the Kandagapalli SM to the approaching train crews might have contributed to the train collision which killed over a dozen people there. It also admits that it has become a habit for station staff to thoughtlessly pick up the walkie-talkie to speak to the crew, unmindful of what the latter may be involved with.
“The SMs or station staff are not allowed to interact with the train crew unless they want to warn or alert them about a possible accident or mishap,” said a senior SR officer.
Even in the Andhra train collision between Kandagapalli and Almanda stations, the automatic signals were said to be faulty since the morning of the accident.
“The Kandagapalli SM allegedly communicated signal details to all approaching train crews. The crew of one of the trains (involved in the accident) is said to have ignored it, while others obliged and stopped the trains based on his inputs,” said the railway source. “There was no need for the SM to alert a regular signal fault unless there is an emergency. It should be physically verified by the train crew.”
Admitting that they regularly received messages from SMs who advised them to move trains based on the indication on the panel in his office, a loco pilot disclosed that the physical signal might not be in tune with the panel.
“The SMs have no business to advise the crew to pilot the trains from the station. Unlike the walkie-talkie used by the loco pilots, the one’s available with the SMs have a long range,” the loco pilot pointed out.
For instance, the message communicated on walkie-talkie by the SM of Chennai Central can be heard all the way back in Chennai Beach. When the station master of Central station asks a loco pilot to move the train on platform 3 in his station, the same message would be received at Beach station where a similar platform and trains are available.
“How would the dozens of loco pilots within the range of the SM of Chennai Central understand who the message was intended for? The circular reiterating the message has been issued after authorities sensed something amiss in Vizianagaram,” said the loco pilot.