SER: About 615 loco pilot posts lying vacant

kolkata: At least 615 locomotive pilots' position remains vacant in South Eastern Railways (SER). Officials cite retirement and natural death as reasons for the vacancy.

The SER has various divisions—Adra, Kharagpur, Chakradharpur, Shalimar and Ranchi—under it. The total number of sanctioned locomotive pilots for both passenger and goods is 4100.

Out of which 15 per cent i.e. 615 positions for the loco pilots remain empty. A loco pilot is a railway employee who is responsible for driving trains and ensuring the proper maintenance of trains during transit.

The locomotive pilots are first given training in driving good trains and once they master the skill and are moved up the ranks, they are given the authority to drive passenger trains.

"This extra training takes time but is necessary as passenger trains are crucial since the life of the people depends on the pilot," the official stated.

A senior official of SER said that the number of passenger trains have also gone down from 761 during the pre-COVID times to 608 trains. However, the freight loading has increased.