However, the fear of compulsory retirement, that one of their colleagues went through earlier this year, keeps them going.

“If I stop a train for a toilet break, it gets recorded. Who would want such entries against their name? About two years ago, a woman pilot in Kerala even collapsed at a station due to urinary infection. This is our reality,” said a woman loco pilot.

A male loco pilot echoed the frustration: “It is an open secret that we use bottles. The authorities know it, but don’t care. Imagine having to run a train while holding back nature’s call. It’s hard to stay focused, and this puts passengers at risk.”

To a January 29 RTI query by TNIE on whether there was any health-related data of loco pilots working without toilet breaks, the Southern Railway replied: “no such data/information is available in this office.”

As per the information accessed by TNIE, the Thiruvananthapuram Division of the Southern Railway has 664 loco pilots, including 24 women, though 130 posts remain vacant.