Bilaspur Train Crash: Railway Board Yet to Settle Alcohol Test Rule

Nearly a year after a MEMU passenger train ran into the back of a stationary goods train near Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, killing 12 people, the Railway Board has still not decided how to treat loco pilots whose blood tests show tiny traces of alcohol, PTI reported on 24 October 2026. The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) had asked the board to review the zero-alcohol limit in the Indian Railway Medical Manual after the 4 November 2025 crash; the board’s only recorded answer is that the matter is “under review with the Health Directorate”.

Loco Pilots Caught Between Two Tests

After the collision, breathalyser tests on the running crew showed zero alcohol, but their blood samples showed 3 to 10 mg/dL. Paragraph 565 of the Medical Manual, backed by a 2001 Railway Board circular, says “zero blood alcohol levels only are acceptable”. A senior zonal railway official told PTI that the question has been pending for almost a year and that “innocent loco pilots face disciplinary action” under the rule.

The All India Loco Running Staff Association, a union of train drivers, says a person who has not had a drink can still show 10 mg/dL or more for other reasons. It points out that the Motor Vehicles Act treats a road driver as drunk only above 30 mg/dL.

Also read Disputed WhatsApp Message Cannot Convict, Supreme Court Rules

Labs That Cannot Read Below 10 mg/dL

South East Central Railway’s principal chief medical director told the CRS that its empanelled private lab could not measure below 3 mg/dL accurately, and that readings below 10 mg/dL were treated as negative. Several zones, including Northern Railway, reported that most zonal labs cannot detect levels below 10 mg/dL at all.

The CRS inquiry, by Brijesh Kumar Mishra of the South Eastern Circle in Kolkata, found that the MEMU overshot a red signal and that its loco pilot had failed a mandatory aptitude test on 9 June 2025 but was still put on duty. The report said South East Central Railway had 102 aptitude-cleared loco pilots against the 142 it needed for MEMU trains, and recommended an automatic braking system for signal violations on MEMUs.

No Date for the Board’s Decision

The Railway Board gave no update when PTI contacted it, and has not said when the Health Directorate’s review will finish or whether it will change the limit, the testing method, or both. The Ministry of Railways had not responded publicly by 8:30 AM IST on 25 October. The reports do not say whether the CRS recommendations on crew rostering and automatic braking have been carried out. More rail stories, including the new Rewa-Churhat and Satna-Devendranagar lines, are in Daily Updates.

Source: Based on reporting by The Tribune / PTI and Business Standard, with CRS findings as reported by The Week / PTI.

Image: The Tribune / File photo.