Life off-track for railway workers in Kerala

Funeral of TTE Vinod sparks safety concerns for railway personnel in Kerala, demanding better working conditions.

Earlier in April, hundreds of people turned up for the funeral of V. Vinod, in Ernakulam, in central Kerala. A travelling ticked examiner (TTE), he was allegedly pushed off the Ernakulam-Patna Express a fortnight ago by a man travelling ticketless as it was passing through Thrissur district. Vinod and his mother had just moved into their new home in February. He was due to return from his trip and attend a temple festival.

“Vinod and I worked together for 20 years,” says Justin J., a fellow TTE and the Kochi branch secretary of the Southern Railway Mazdoor Union (SRMU), a recognised union in Railways. Vinod was the treasurer. “He was committed to duty always, but above all he was an artist. He had done some but notable roles in more than a dozen movies alongside superstars such as Mammootty and Mohanlal,” Joseph remembers.

“TTEs face intimidation by ticketless and intoxicated travellers; people pressure them for the train to stop at non-designated stations, and waitlisted passengers and those with RAC (reservation against cancellation) tickets often harass them,” says V. Anilkumar, general secretary of SRMU, which has over 70,000 employees as members. He says while most TTEs, including women, are mandated to verify credentials of passengers on three coaches, there are 24-coach trains with just one TTE.

SRMU, a recognised union, organised demonstrations and commemoration meetings at Ernakulam Junction railway station and at other stations in Kerala and Tamil Nadu seeking steps to ensure the safety of TTEs across the two States, where the South Railway’s jurisdiction extends. 

It’s not just TTEs though. The working conditions of track maintainers, gatekeepers, loco pilots, train guards (now called train managers), in all over one lakh employees — all engaged in operational and safety duties — need an overhaul of working conditions, for their own health and safety.

Ligi (name changed), 35, among the around 30,000 track maintainers of the Southern Railway, walks up to 20 km each day. Like her colleagues in Kottayam, she keeps a close watch on the condition of tracks and tightens fish-plate bolts and other track components, come rain or shine.

She carries a pair of red flags, a green flag, and 10 detonators to attract the attention of colleagues/train crew in case of an emergency, apart from the tools needed to maintain the track for smooth service. She is often at the mercy of local residents when she feels like using the restroom, since the ‘gang room’, a shelter for track maintainers to rest, is almost always far away.