In a move to give more dignity and respect, Railway Ministry has decided to do away with the designation of ‘Guard’ and instead use ‘Train Manager’ in place of ‘Guard’ with immediate effect.

However, the revision in designations will not entail any change in their pay levels, method of recruitment, existing duties and responsibilities, seniority and avenues of promotion, as per the circular issued by the Ministry of Railways.

The revised designation is more in consonance with their existing duties & responsibilities and will improve the motivation level of Guards now Train Managers, the advisory issued by Ministry said.

A railway official told that the issue of change of designation of Trains Guard to “Train Manager” is being demanded for quite some time, the demand was that the existing designation “Trains Guard” has become outdated and in the society, the common man draw reference that he/she may be Guard in some private firm etc.

It’s well understood that, whether it be a passenger train or a freight train, the Trains Guard is virtually a Train -n-charge of the respective train.

The official further said that ” It would, therefore, be quite appropriate that the existing designation of ‘Train Guard’ be changed to “Train Manager”, which would be a dignified designation for them without any financial implication, so that, they can also lead a respectful life in the society.

However, this is not the first time that Railway Ministry has adopted such change. In the past, Railways has done a similar exercise too in 2016, when the Railway Minister decided and announced to change the name of ‘Porters’ to ‘Sahayaks’ in the parliament of the country. Then, the railway minister Prabhu said, that the name change, in the long run, would help the Coolie or the Porters fraternity to get the deserved respect and dignity.