# Railway Board yet to rule on low alcohol test norms after Bilaspur crash 2026-10-24T12:01:30+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Railway Board is yet to decide whether a loco pilot is fit for duty when blood tests detect very low alcohol levels, a year after a fatal crash in Bilaspur raised the issue, Business Standard and The Economic Times reported. The Gevra-Bilaspur MEMU passenger train hit a stationary goods train on 4 November 2025, killing 12. A CRS report found the loco pilot had overshot a red signal and had previously failed an aptitude test. Blood samples of crew showed ethanol between 3 and 10 mg/dL, though breathalyser tests were zero. The South East Central Railway's chief medical director said an empanelled lab could not accurately assess levels below 3 mg/dL, and that readings under 10 mg/dL were considered negative. Several zones, including Northern Railway, say their labs cannot detect alcohol below 10 mg/dL, while the Indian Railway Medical Manual requires zero blood alcohol. The loco pilots' union, All India Loco Running Staff Association, argues that metabolic reasons can produce alcohol levels up to 10 mg/dL even without drinking. The CRS has recommended the Railway Board review Paragraph 565 of the manual. The Board's health directorate is examining the matter but has provided no update. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both outlets carried identical PTI copy, making the coverage uniform straight reporting. The story is driven by a senior railway official's call for a decision nearly a year after the crash, and by the CRS's recommendation to review Paragraph 565. The critical fact is the technical gap: labs cannot reliably measure below 10 mg/dL, but the manual demands zero. The Railway Board's health directorate has the matter, the next concrete event is the board's decision on whether to amend the zero-alcohol rule. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - business-standard.com (neutral report) Straight PTI wire, no editorial slant - economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Straight PTI wire, no editorial slant This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: All India Loco Running Staff Association, Bilaspur train collision, Commissioner of Railway Safety, Railway Board Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/railway-board-yet-to-rule-on-low-alcohol-test-norms-after-bilaspur-crash/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/railway-board-yet-to-rule-on-low-alcohol-test-norms-after-bilaspur-crash/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/