NEW DELHI: The Standing Committee on Railways has warned that the objective of fully electrified dedicated freight corridors with exclusive high-capacity tracks could be undermined unless operational constraints, particularly crew shortages, are addressed without delay.

The committee, in its sixth report on ‘Increasing freight-related earnings of Indian Railways and development of dedicated freight corridors’, presented to the Lok Sabha recently, examined aspects of freight operations, including challenges and proposed measures for improvement.

The committee’s comments came after the Ministry of Railways acknowledged that “the biggest challenge faced by the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) in running trains is the availability of crew.” In a submission to the committee, the ministry provided details regarding the number of employees involved in train operations as of June 1, 2025. According to the ministry, out of a sanctioned strength of 1,42,814 loco pilots, the actual strength stands at 1,07,928.

Similarly, for goods train managers (guards), out of 22,082 sanctioned posts, only 12,345 are currently filled. The total sanctioned strength for all categories, including station masters and station superintendents, is 2,06,495, but the actual number of working employees is 1,59,219.