Railway board bats for CCTVs on outstation trains

MUMBAI: In a bid to enhance the safety and security of women and children on trains and on railway premises, the railway board has suggested that the Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) install CCTVs on outstation express trains apart from installing a panic button in these trains.

The railway board’s central committee on women and child safety and security on Friday held a meeting with CR and WR officials where these suggestions were made.

The board has also suggested that if a woman is travelling alone in an express train coach with male passengers, she should be given a berth close to female passengers so that she can feel secure and comfortable.

A senior officer said that the committee asked CR and WR to provide lower berths to women in coaches of outstation trains. The committee also asked that all ladies coaches have adequate security. “The committee has also directed that women’s complaints be addressed on priority basis. It has also asked them to register a case against drunken people who misbehave with women commuters on railway premises and in trains under section 145 of the Railway Act,” he said.   

The committee suggested that during peak hours, RPF personnel conduct regular patrolling at railway stations, especially at those points where women commuters await trains. The senior officer said, “The committee has also asked the railway to ensure that drug addicts are stopped from boarding women’s coaches.”

CCTVs have been installed in 110 coaches of 25 suburban local trains of  CR and WR. The WR has installed CCTVs in a few coaches of the Rajdhani Express which runs on the Mumbai-Delhi route.