Railways wakes up to loco pilots’ trauma

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Railways wakes up to loco pilots’ trauma

January 10, 2019, 11:32 AM

Ten months after a TOI report detailed the trauma faced by loco pilots in cases where trespassers are run over, the railways has started a policy-level discussion on engaging psychologists to deal with such issues.
A December 12 letter from the Railway Board said a two-member team of safety experts visited Germany to study similar systems adopted by German Railway (Deutsche Bahn) and their findings were circulated to various zones for comments. Southern Railway sent it to department heads on Monday.
The TOI report on February 13, 2018, showed how the increasing incidence of men and women jumping to their death in front of trains (nearly 1,000 people are killed on the tracks in Chennai division alone each year in such incidents) was traumatising loco pilots with most of them feeling they had been party to a homicide for no fault of theirs. A few also spoke about the lack of a vent to share their trauma, with after-effects including sleeplessness, skipping meals and loss of concentration at work.Even momemtary loss in concentration, Southern Railway principal chief operations manager S Anantharaman told TOI, can cause signal passing at danger, due to late application of brakes. This was based on a detailed study he did as part of a safety task force nominated by then railway minister Suresh Prabhu, he said.The Railway Board letter says such accidents create a subconscious fear, affecting the loco pilot’s psychological state. He/she working under stress would not be able to concentrate, in turn impacting the reaction time and increasing the scope of mistakes, it says.
In Germany, the DB sends loco pilots involved in accidents for counselling. “This has helped staff recover quickly from trauma and also improved their concentration. They also have an approved list of psychologists,” the letter says.The safety directorate of Indian Railways has now suggested that every divisional railway hospital engage a psychologist who can be at the services of railway staff when necessary. “The DB railway’s model can be implemented across Indian Railways so that their alertness and cognitive skills are improved,” it says.
Indian Railways does not have a policy to deal with the trauma and does not engage any psychologists.S Karunanidhi, head of University of Madras’s psychology department, said motormen could suffer from ‘learned helplessness’, a situation where they feel nobody can solve their problem. He suggested that the Railway Board conduct surveys to identify and resolve these issues.