Lockdown impact: Railways likely to freeze hiring, cut allowances

Rlys' traffic dropped 32% to 99.86 mt between April 1 and May 14, compared to the same period last year

Some railway zones, faced with loss of traffic due to the lockdown, are planning an austerity drive that could include hiring freeze, merging of job categories, and curtailment of certain allowances for some section of the employees.

According to persons close to the development, zones like the West Central Railway (WCR) have initiated such measures to reduce the expenses on infrastructure works and employee cost.

The Railway traffic has dropped 32 per cent to 99.86 million tonne (mt) between April 1 and May 14, compared to the same time last year, while its revenue, too, dipped 41 per cent to