The Railway Board is yet to decide whether a loco pilot is fit to operate a train if a certain amount of alcohol is detected in their blood, given the current policy requiring zero alcohol presence, a senior official has told PTI, asserting that a decision in this regard should be taken at the earliest.
The issue gained significance after a Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) investigation report noted that blood tests conducted on the running crew of two trains involved in a collision in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur in 2025 showed alcohol concentrations ranging from 3 to 10 milligrams per 100 mL (mg/dL) of blood.
On November 4, 2025, the Gevra-Bilaspur MEMU passenger train rammed into the rear of a stationary goods train near Bilaspur, killing 12 people including the loco pilot of the passenger train and injuring around 20.
The CRS investigation found that the passenger train had overshot a red signal, also noting that the loco pilot had previously failed a mandatory aptitude test and should not have been deployed on active MEMU service.
One of the notable findings of the CRS investigation into the incident was that, while breathalyser tests of the running crew members showed zero alcohol, their blood samples showed ethanol concentrations up to 10 mg/dL.
The principal chief medical director (PCMD) of South East Central Railway (SECR), under whose jurisdiction the accident site falls, had informed the CRS that the empanelled private laboratory could not accurately assess alcohol concentrations below 3 mg/dL, and that levels below 10 mg/dL were considered negative.
Several other railway zones including Northern Railway have also flagged the issue, stating that the minimum detectable alcohol level in railway-empanelled and railway-owned laboratories in most zones is above 10 mg/dL.
In response to the CRS observation, the Railway Board had said at the time that the matter was under review by its health directorate.
When contacted, the Railway Board provided no update on the matter.
"It has been almost a year since such a crucial issue was taken up, but it is still pending with the Railway Board, and no decision has been taken yet," a senior zonal railway official said, urging the board to take an urgent decision.
"Even innocent loco pilots face disciplinary action under the 'zero alcohol' norm because their blood samples show results up to 10 mg/dL or more, even though they have never consumed alcohol," he added.
Under the provisions of the Indian Railway Medical Manual (IRMM), only zero blood alcohol levels are acceptable.
In 2001, the Railway Board reiterated this provision, stating, "No alcohol is admissible in the blood of staff working on the trains and zero blood alcohol levels only are acceptable."
Loco pilots' union, All India Loco Running Staff Association, argued, citing scientific studies, that very low levels of ethanol could be detected in the blood for several reasons, and even a person who has not consumed alcohol could have blood alcohol levels up to, or even more than, 10 mg/dL.
It argued that, under the Motor Vehicle Act, a person with blood alcohol level exceeding 30 mg/dL is considered drunk driving.
The PCMD/SECR expressed a similar view to the CRS. "PCMD/SECR further opined that levels up to 10 mg/dL are being taken as negative, as there are many metabolic reasons due to which blood alcohol may reach that level.
"Considering the opinion of PCMD/SECR, the limits prescribed in Paragraph 565 of the IRMM need to be reviewed by the Railway Board," the CRS said in its report.
In its communication to the Railway Board, the CRS referred to Paragraph 565 of the IRMM, which stipulates that only zero blood alcohol levels are acceptable. The PCMD/SECR stated that an empanelled private laboratory was unable to accurately assess alcohol concentrations below 3 mg/dL.
In its response, the Railway Board had said the issue of blood alcohol levels below 10 mg/dL not being detected or accurately assessed in laboratory reports had been raised earlier by the principal chief electrical engineer (PCEE) of Northern Railway.
"It has been observed that -- 'The minimum level of alcohol that can be detected in railway empanelled laboratories/railway's own labs in most of the zones is greater than 10mg/dl. In most of the zones, precise blood alcohol level cannot be assessed for lower levels as per railway requirement.'
"The matter is under review with the Health Directorate, Railway Board," the board had said.