New Delhi, Nov 16: Railways would soon incorporate certain safety and comfort measures to suit train drivers including air-conditioning of their cabins, railway minister Nitish Kumar said here today.

"Earlier, there was a belief that if a driver sits uncomfortably without any backrest, he would remain alert and not fall off to sleep, but we have to change that attitude now," he told reporters at the award ceremony of the "most crew friendly cab" competition, in which railway sheds and workshops from all over the country designed a driver-friendly cabin, here. A list of some of the most prominent features would be compiled and incorporated in all the locomotives, within the span of a year, Kumar said, adding all the coaches would be air-conditioned as soon as possible.

A total of 17 locomotives were displayed in the contest and they were judged by railway drivers on the basis of comfort and user-friendly features. The locomotives were divided into three categories - the shed category, in which the Guntakal shed won the first prize of Rs 2.5 lakh, the workshop category, in which the Parel unit won the first prize and the production unit category, in which the diesel locomotive workshop, bagged top honours.

A special prize was also given to Ludhiana, Vatva and DMCL units and also to the Delhi division for organising the event.

Bureau Report