Two Railway Divisions locked in tussle over Vande Bharat Express guard duty

The prestigious Vande Bharat Express, which runs between Delhi and Bhopal, has become the center of a dispute between the Northern Railway and North Central Railway.

The issue centers around who will guard the train, and it has been ongoing since April 1, 2023, a day before the Prime Minister flagged off the train from Bhopal's Rani Kamalapati railway station.

The train is operated by two employees: the Loco Pilot and the train manager or guard. If either of them is not present, the train cannot run. However, Northern Railway and North Central Railway are fighting over who will guard the Vande Bharat Express. The situation has become so contentious that every day, a guard from Agra Division arrives at Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station in Delhi to perform his duty, but he is not allowed to do so. The guard from Delhi Division takes over, and the Agra guard is forced to return to Agra as a passenger on the same train.

At present, two guards are on duty daily in the Vande Bharat Express. The guards of Agra division also come to Nizamuddin, but they are not allowed to enter the guard's cabin. The Delhi division has allowed the loco pilot of Agra division to take control of the train but has not allowed the guard of Agra to do his duty.

The dispute is between Northern Railway and North Central Railway. The train departs from Hazrat Nizamuddin, Delhi Division of Northern Railway. On March 31, 2023, the timetable department of Northern Railway issued a message to all senior officers, stating that the train would have NR guards from Nizamuddin to Jhansi and from Jhansi to Nizamuddin. However, the Chief Passenger Transport Manager of the North Central Railway issued a letter to his superiors stating that both the guard and the driver in the train would be his.

Sanjay Pandhi, the working president of the train drivers' body 'Indian Railway Loco Runningman's Organization', stated that despite clear rules, the drivers' and guards' unions have their way of controlling newly introduced trains. He suggested that the Railway Board should intervene and settle the matter.

In response to the situation, Deepak Kumar, Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway, said that he had asked the Divisional Railway Manager, Delhi, to look into the matter and find a solution with the Agra division. He stated that when the train starts moving, its crew would operate it, so there should be no doubt about it. The All India Guards Council also staked its claim on train operations and said that they should have the right to operate the train as 360 kilometers fall in the Agra and Jhansi divisions of North Central Railway. The ongoing dispute highlights the need for clear guidelines and effective management of railway operations.