South Zone Loco Pilots to Protest Against Railway Board Discrimination

Thiruvananthapuram: South Zone loco pilots will stage a protest in front of Chennai’s Moore Market Complex on September 24, 2025, at 11 am, against the Railway Board’s discriminatory treatment of loco pilots in Southern Railway.

The protest, organised by the All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA) and to be inaugurated by its all-India general secretary K C James, is expected to draw participants from Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Salem, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram divisions. Eminent trade union leaders from DREU, DRKS, SRES, RLLF, AISMA and AIGC are also expected to join the demonstration.

Loco pilots are demanding a 25 percent hike in Kilometer Allowance (KMA) from January 1, 2024, after dearness allowance crossed 50 percent. While similar increases were implemented in 2012 and 2014, the benefit has been denied this time, even as other central government employees received hikes in allowances.

The protesters also want a revision of the KMA income tax exemption ceiling, which has remained fixed at 10,000 rupees since 2008, leaving them disproportionately taxed despite KMA revisions in 2012, 2014 and 2017. They are pressing for recognition of defined duty breaks for meals and natural calls, saying refusal to provide such breaks violates their rights under Article 21 of the Constitution and contributes to fatigue and human error.

The recent Railway Board order dated August 11, 2025, which denied loco pilots the established 30 percent and 55 percent pay elements, is also being opposed, with the union calling for its immediate withdrawal.

The protest comes amid a growing crisis in the railway system. Recruitment for 18,000 loco pilot posts notified in January 2024 remains incomplete, and a 2025 notification has not progressed beyond the first stage of exams. Southern Railway alone reports a 20 percent crew shortfall, with over 1,100 posts vacant as of September 2025. Union leaders allege mismanagement and deliberate underreporting of vacancies, forcing the administration to attempt reappointing retired pilots instead of hiring new staff.

The AILRSA emphasises that the protest is about both wages and safety. Idle freight locomotives, delayed coal and industrial supplies, and fatigued pilots operating long-haul and high-speed services such as Vande Bharat without adequate rest, they say, endanger passengers and the nation’s economic stability.

The September 24 demonstration is intended to remind the Railway Ministry that accountability, timely recruitment and humane working conditions for running staff can no longer be delayed.

This version integrates the participation of other prominent trade unions while keeping the focus on the pilots’ demands and safety concerns.