The Thiruvananthapuram division of the Southern Railway has withdrawn a circular that had banned the consumption of certain dietary items that produced false breathalyser test reports, impacting crew deployment and smooth train operations.

A written communication on February 20 from the division to the authorities concerned said “the extraordinary circular on breath analyser test” dated February 18 has been withdrawn.

Railway sources said the loco pilots’ union resented the division’s decision as it was legally unjustifiable.

The said extraordinary circular issued by the division on February 18 said the presence of alcohol in the exhaled air detected by the breath analyser at the time of starting or completing the duty is on the rise and the reasons cited for such unwarranted occurrences by the crew are mainly the consumption or use of homoeopathic medicines, soft drink, tender coconut water, some kind of plantain fruits, cough syrup, mouthwash etc.

While analysing the blood samples taken in such cases at the Chemical Examiner’s Laboratory owned by the government, almost all samples were found with no content of alcohol, the circular said.

However, the false breathalyser test created a disturbance and directly affected smooth train operations.

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