Title - Security on trains: RPF seeks 640 more personnel

For better security on trains and railway premises

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has sought 640 more personnel to provide security to passengers, check subversive activities and crimes on trains and railway premises, and face new challenges in the railway network of the State.The request for additional RPF personnel from the divisional level has been forwarded through the zonal headquarters of Southern Railway in Chennai to the Railway Board in Delhi for sanction, a top RPF official said .The additional personnel will increase the strength of the RPF from the present 465 to 1,105, and enable the force to make its presence felt more in the railway network.The RPF is headed by a Commissioner and has an Assistant Commissioner to take care of the vast stretch from Tirunelveli to Kanyakumari and from there to Vallathol Nagar.  The number of trains being escorted by the RPF can also be increased from the present 50 once the additional personnel join the force, the official said.

At present, 100 RPF personnel are used for train escort duties daily with the minimum force available.

Of the 465 personnel on the rolls in the division now, only 21 are women - 19 constables and two sub-inspectors.

The women police constables travel in the women’s ladies coach of railway passenger trains in the State from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The request for more personnel comes at a time when the RPF is gearing up to implement the Integrated Security System (ISS) at Thiruvananthapuram Central and Ernakulam Junction stations.

The modern security system is part of Railways’ efforts to step up security, ensure safety of the travelling public, and avert terror attacks.

The ISS will be managed by the personnel of the RPF.

Training

The RPF personnel will be trained by the company that has bagged the orders for the two stations to handle hi-tech gadgets, including vehicle scanners to detect explosive substances on vehicles entering and leaving the station, and multi-zone doorframe metal detectors, he said.

The increasing crime against women in the railway network is a major challenge for the force.

To instil a sense of security among the women passengers, the RPF has started an awareness programme under the leadership of Divisional Security Commissioner Rajnish Kumar Tripathi. On Independence Day, pamphlets were distributed to passengers at Thiruvananthapuram Central station as part of the awareness drive.

The two Crime Prevention and Detection Squads (CPDS) set up to provide security to passengers and check subversive activities in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam had been able to check crimes on trains and railway stations premises.

The squad members who travel in plainclothes gathered intelligence on criminals directly or in liaison with the local police and the Government Railway Police personnel, the official said.


At present, 100 RPF personnel are used for train escort duties daily with the minimum force available.