Female train drivers oppose walkie-talkie use for washroom breaks
New Delhi: Female train drivers have opposed the “embarrassing and unsafe” practice of using walkie-talkies to request a washroom break while on duty.
“If we have to answer the nature’s call, we have to tell the male loco pilot who informs the station master, who further conveys it to the control department which manages the running of trains,” a female loco pilot said on Sunday. “All these conversations happen through walkie-talkies accessible to dozens of other officials in the range. The message spreads everywhere at the station that a woman driver is in the engine and she wants to go to the loo,” she said. According to them, of the over 1700 female train drivers employed with the Indian Railways, 90 per cent are assistant loco pilots who work as an assistant to male loco pilots of passenger or freight trains.
Another female loco pilot said, “I went through the ordeal once when I was on duty with a male driver on a freight train. In a passenger train, one can go to the washroom in one of the coaches but in case of a freight train, you have to step out at the station area.” She claimed that when she stepped out of the engine and came to the station, some of the officers, who knew in advance through the walkie-talkie messages, were staring at her and she felt very awkward. The female loco pilots said that it is also unsafe for them to step out of the engines to use washrooms of smaller stations, which are usually located in deserted areas. “In the past couple of years, hundreds of new girls have come into the profession of train driving and since they were unaware of these challenges, they are under stress,” Ashok Sharma, Assistant General Secretary, National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR), said.
“Many of them avoid drinking water before the start of their duties and even during duty hours, they refrain from consuming any liquid food items. This causes dehydration and leads to several other lifestyle diseases among them. Their condition is extremely miserable,” Sharma said.
