WARANGAL: Railway officials have approved 190 new posts for the Kazipet Loco Running Depot during a running staff review held in Secunderabad. The decision is seen as a major boost for the depot, which had earlier lost prominence when railway crew links and loco pilots were shifted to the Dornakal and Vijayawada depots.
The new posts include 90 Goods Assistant Loco Pilots, 90 Assistant Loco Pilots, and 10 Passenger Assistant Loco Pilots.
MP Kadiyam Kavya and MLA Naini Rajendar Reddy, along with local railway union leaders, exerted pressure on the Railway General Manager (GM) and Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) to safeguard the depot’s significance. Responding to their appeals, railway officials assured that justice would be done to Kazipet.
With the addition of these posts, the Kazipet Loco Running Depot will now have a total staff strength of 720, making it one of the largest depots in the Secunderabad division. The expansion also creates an opportunity for staff in other depots, such as Bellampalli and Dornakal, to seek transfers to Kazipet.
Welcoming the decision, Paka Rajkumar, chairman of the Kazipet Railway Employees Sangh Loco Running Branch, expressed happiness and said the efforts of the local MP, MLA, and union leaders had paid off.
He noted that the newly introduced Bhimavaram-Nanded express train, which began operations on September 5, was manned by crew from the Kazipet depot, including the loco pilot, assistant loco pilot, and train manager. Six running staff members will be deployed on duty for the up-and-down route.
South Central Railway officials are giving special attention to the Kazipet depot, with plans to introduce more train services through Karimnagar to Nizamabad and Nanded in the near future, he added.
