‘For railway safety’, those at the engine will dress like pilots.

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Only in India!

Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi wants to make the people who drive trains look like airline pilots, the objective being to motivate them to perform better and in turn, the minister hopes, improve railway safety.

“We are trying to introduce new methods to improve safety standards in the Railways. For example, we are thinking of changing the uniform of loco pilots to [one similar to] that of airline pilots,” Trivedi said. “An improvement in conditions will motivate them to perform better.”

A designer has not yet been selecetd. Loco pilots have been wearing sky blue shirts and navy blue trousers for decades. The proposal comes amid a series of accidents, many of them blamed on human error. “We have to create a working environment that is conducive to a better performance,” Trivedi said. “We have to... accommodate little changes like a change in the uniform so that they feel dignified.” He said the railways have advanced technologically and “we have to look at better working conditions”.

Trivedi has announced a panel of scientists to suggest ways to improve rail safety and look into HRD. Headed by former Atomic Energy Commission chief Anil Kakodkar, it will include N Vedachalam of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Sanjay Dhande of IIT-Kanpur and G P Srivastava of BARC, with Delhi Metro architect E Sreedharan as an adviser.


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