With an increase in the number of Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD) incidents across the country, the Indian Railways has decided to frequently check the call details of loco pilots to ensure they had not used it while on duty.
To prevent incidents of trains passing the signal at danger (crossing the red signal), the Railway Board has issued an advisory asking General Managers of all Zonal Railways to ensure loco pilots followed the safety protocols.
While reiterating the rule that mobile phones should not be used during run and kept in switch-off mode, the advisory authorised the authorities concerned to frequently analyse the call details record of Closed User Group (CUG) numbers of loco pilots and assistant loco pilots.
Asking loco pilots to conduct brake continuity and brake feel test as per the procedure laid down, the advisory urged the assistant loco pilots not to hesitate to apply emergency brakes in case they found anything unusual on the alertness of the loco pilot.
Loco pilots were told not to use walkie-talkie communication to get information about signals from the Station Master. They should slow down the speed of the train in case of caution orders and not run presuming the aspect of the next signal.
Emphasising the need for conducting surprise inspections by senior railway officials, the advisory directed the Signal Sighting Committee to ensure clear visibility of the signal at all times.
Variety of reasons
According to railway sources, a recent analysis of reasons for SPAD cases revealed that there was no specific reason for the increasing trend. Most incidents happened due to momentary loss of concentration, lack of alertness, negligence, assumption of the signal aspect and overconfidence.
The analysis also showed a majority of SPAD cases occurred between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Going by age-wise analysis, crew in the age group of 46 and above were mostly found to be involved, the sources said, adding that stress, both on personal and professional fronts, among loco pilots resulted in SPAD incidents.
