‘Iron tool box’ gives railway staff the jitters

Kochi: The practice of unloading heavy “iron tool box” from train engines during shunting is giving jitters to the staff at small railways stations like Edapally where a lady employee got injured while performing the duty.

Ever since the railways axed “box boys” - the dedicated staff for carrying the heavy iron toolbox - it’s the responsibility of station masters and their assistants at small stations to unload the box. The box contains emergency tools and signal materials.

A lot many goods trains that proceed to the Vallarpadam container terminal halts at the Edappally Railway Station for shunting. However, the station master has only a single assistant to shoulder the responsibility of offloading the iron box.

M. P. Padmini 50, a gatekeeper, was injured while trying to unload the box singlehandedly from the engine cabin.

Though she sought the help of the loco pilot and the assistant loco pilot, they refused to help her out saying it was not part of their duty.

"Anyway she had to carry out her duty, and she fell down while trying to unload the heavy box,” said an employee. The demand for posting more staff at such stations has so far fallen on deaf ears.

“The toolbox is so massive that it requires at least two persons to unload and the engine halts outside the platform,” said James, the Southern Railway Mazdoor Union branch secretary. “In big stations, porters will do the work on the contract. We’ve written to the higher authorities to post more platform staff at small stations like Edapally, else we’ll launch protests.”