A Yoga room and a meditation hall have been set up for loco pilots at Secunderabad railway station under the South Central Railway (SCR), Secunderabad division. This is to help them manage stress during their demanding 12-hour shifts. The crew running room has also been upgraded to include regular health checkups and counselling centers to address personal and professional issues, providing support for the well-being of the staff.
SCR officials emphasize the importance of the comfort of loco and assistant loco pilots. These arrangements have been made to ensure they can relax amid their hectic schedules.
Currently, the Secunderabad running room accommodates 60 staff members daily from various directions. Around 800 staff members sign on and off for duties each day at the Secunderabad crew booking lobby. These staff members are involved in running trains in multiple directions from Secunderabad to various destinations.
The features of the upgraded crew running room include resting cubicles, meditation and Yoga rooms, fully air-conditioned rooms, a spacious dining hall with a modern kitchen providing healthy meals at subsidised rates, and a 40-seater seminar hall. An RO plant has been installed for clean drinking water, and counsellors are available to provide support to the staff.
The running room is equipped with amenities such as a lift, laundry facilities, shoe shining machine, clean washrooms, solar water heaters, a reception with digital bed occupancy system, branded quality cots and mattresses, and a modular kitchen and store. B Venkatesh, divisional electrical engineer, highlights that proper accommodation and rest are provided to loco pilots to ensure they are ready to perform their duties safely between shifts.
Integrated kiosks with breath analysers, biometric systems, and webcams are used for signing on and off of loco pilots, assistant loco pilots, and train managers (guards). Loco pilots must undergo breath-analysing tests before duty and take an oath on ‘No SPAD’ (Signal Passing at Danger) for the smooth and safe running of trains.
