Report by Kamgar Ekta Committee correspondent based on inputs received from Shri Sai Prasad, Central Organizing Secretary & All-India Media Incharge, All India Pointsman Association (AIPMA)
On July 1, Abhilesh Yadav, a pointsman in Indian Railways died after he was hit by Tata Nagar Express while on duty at Gudma station under the Nagpur Division of the South East Central Railway.
Pointsmen in the Indian Railways perform crucial duties on railway tracks. They are responsible for attending to problems at track crossing points, stabilising trains after their journey in yards, serving written communications to loco pilots and guards, etc. All these duties demand total attention and focus since a minor slip up may lead to major mishaps jeopardizing safety of trains, passengers and railway workers.
The pointsmen category is a critical safety category in the Indian Railways but is routinely subjected to a punishing 12-hour duty roster under the “Essentially Intermittent” classification. This is mainly because of the fact that there are huge number of vacancies of pointsmen. In a joint letter written by many category associations to Railway Board on 5th September 2025, vacancies in various categories were reported. As per that letter, for pointsmen category, as against sanctioned strength of 70,158 there were 5,158 vacancies. Considering the fact that over last decade, number of trains have gone up substantially, the actual number of pointsmen required is around 85,000 which means there are around 20,000 vacancies. Due to these huge vacancies, the currently employed pointsmen are forced to follow 12 hour duty roster. Working 12 hours straight in unlit yards, on loose ballast, and in harsh weather conditions directly leads to slower reaction times during critical shunting movements.
All India Pointsmen Association has accused that, it is such a punishing duty schedule, which resulted in lapse in concentration leading to sad accidental death of their colleague Abhilesh Yadav. It is in this background that AIPMA has once again forcefully demanded that
- 12 hour shift roster for pointsmen should be immediately abandoned.
- Immediate distribution of high-visibility personal safety gear and walkie-talkies, along with an absolute ban on manual vehicle stabilisation without a dedicated safety lookout, should be arranged.
All the Indian Railway workers must support these just demands of pointsmen.