During winter, when the visibility becomes low due to mist or fog and temperatures fall, the Indian railways has stepped up the inspection levels of the tracks under revised guidelines which include incentivising night patrolling staff for detecting any rail defect.
Night patrolling staff work from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the cold weather armed with torches and implements to keep a vigil on the track and warn the loco-pilots of the trains passing by of any potential danger. It is similar to the monsoon patrolling in identified block sections conducted from November end to February end.
In a recent communication to the staff on the ground, the Railway Board (RB) has instructed the section engineers concerned to incentivise the night patrolmen with a reward of ₹500 whenever they detect any rail or weld failures between 10 a.m. to 4 a.m., as added motivation.
