Metro to get more loco pilots to tide over manpower crunch
The Statesman | 12 September 2025According to sources manpower shortage, coupled with inadequate number of rakes is two of the major issues that have cumulatively given rise to the pertaining problems. To address the issues, the railway authorities are said to have prepared an action plan. To begin with, two rakes from Dalian in China have been brought to the city and would soon be rolled out post tests and trials. The other issue of manpower crisis is being addressed by bringing loco pilots from Eastern and South Eastern Railway to work in the city Metro, according to the member operations and business development of Railway Board, Hitendra Malhotra. “More than 18,000 loco pilots are to be brought in during the next two months,” informed Mr Malhotra during a session on ‘Railway Infrastructure Development: Challenges and Opportunities,’ organised by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce today.
Elaborating further on the manpower shortage in the city Metro, he said: “As far as Kolkata Metro Railway is concerned, the carrier is provided with staff from the Eastern and the South Eastern Railways. The loco pilots have already been brought and will join Kolkata Metro Railway this week.”
Speaking on the specific arrangements to handle the puja rush, the Railway Board member pointed out, “Whatever major repair works are there would be halted during the Durga Puja period so that commercial services are not held up and can be run smoothly. Any sort of major repair works would be taken up only after the festival and no services would be reduced before that.”
Mr Malhotra, who was in the city today, visited the Kolkata Metro Railway holding a meeting with the senior officials of the city Metro. Talking about disruptions in services, he reiterated: “There was some serious failure in one Dalian rake but a solution has been found. The team has made an action plan so that such failures would not happen.”
