Rs 800 cr to step up vigil at rly stns in four metros

NEW DELHI: In the wake of unprecedented terror attacks in Mumbai, including at the CST, the railways has decided to spend Rs 800 crore on beefing up security at stations in the four metros-Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai-within 6 months.
The project includes creation of a dedicated commando force for the railways, newly-appointed RPF director general Ranjit Sinha told TOI on Wednesday.Personnel from the RPF and Railway Protection Security Force would be trained as commandos, he added.
The two-phase project will see installation of additional security measures like surveillance systems, CCTVs, luggage scanners, X-ray machines, metal detectors and bomb detectors.
Sinha said apart from this, Rs 15 crore was being spent on the newly created Srinagar and other stations in Jammu and Kashmir.
The aim is to widen the security and surveillance system at railway stations including trains, Sinha said. "We are also considering installing scanners and CCTVs in coaches of some important long-distance trains,'' he said.
The project also aims to set up control rooms in all railway zones.
Besides, the RPF will be augmented from its present strength of 68,000 men by another 10,000. About a dozen posts in the ranks of DIGs and IGs are also being created.
After the Mumbai attack, where RPF jawans at CST were clearly no match for the terrorists with sophisticated weapons, the Railway Board has given the go-ahead to equip RPF jawans with AK-47 and INSAS rifles.
Additional RPF DG Rajiv Mathur told TOI, "Please note that despite being unarmed at CST, one of our RPF jawans, Jullu Yadav, took the .303 rifle of a GRP jawan and fired at the two terrorists.''