Over five lakh recruitments have been done by the Indian Railways since 2014. This was stated by Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today. He said, in comparison to recruitments done in the last ten years, four lakh 11 thousand recruitments were done during the UPA regime from 2004 to 2014. The Minister said, Railways has introduced a system of publishing an annual calendar this year for recruitment to various categories of Group C posts.

He added that over 32 thousand vacancies have been notified during January to March this year for filling up of posts of Assistant Loco Pilots, Technicians, Sub-Inspectors and Constables in Railway Protection Force. The Minister informed that a total of one lakh 30 thousand 581 candidates have been recruited in Railways between the period 2020 to 2022.

On the working conditions of Loco Pilots and safety of train operation, Mr. Vaishnaw said, several steps have been taken for improvement of working conditions of loco running crew and improving the safety of train operation. He said, all new locos manufactured are provided with air-conditioned cabs from 2017-18. He said, more than seven thousand locos have been provided with air conditioners. He said, a portable GPS based Fog Safe Device is being provided to Loco Pilots as a technical aid for displaying and announcing the name and distance of approaching signals and important landmarks.