Policing on Railways being a State subject, prevention of crime, registration of cases, their investigation and maintenance of law & order in Railway premises as well as on running trains are the statutory responsibility of the State Governments

Policing on Railways being a State subject, prevention of crime, registration of cases, their investigation and maintenance of law & order in Railway premises as well as on running trains are the statutory responsibility of the State Governments, which they discharge through Government Railway Police (GRP)/District Police. However, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) supplements the efforts of GRP to provide better protection and security of passenger area & passengers. Cases of Indian Penal Code (IPC) crime in Railways are registered and investigated by the concerned Government Railway Police. However, the following measures are being taken by the Railways in coordination with Government Railway Police to ensure the security of passengers including women passengers:-

  1. On vulnerable and identified routes/sections, 2200 trains (on an average) are escorted by Railway Protection Force daily in addition to 2200 trains escorted by Government Railway Police of different States daily.
  2. Security Help Line number 182 is made operational (24X7) over Indian Railways for security-related assistance to passengers in distress.
  3. Through various social media platforms viz. twitter, Facebook, etc., Railways are in regular touch with passengers including women to enhance the security of passengers and to address their security concerns.
  4. Drives are conducted against the entry of male passengers into compartments reserved for women passengers and persons apprehended are prosecuted under section 162 of The Railways Act, 1989. During the years 2018 & 2019, a total of 139422 & 114170 male passengers respectively have been prosecuted for unauthorized entry/travel in compartments reserved for women passengers.
  5. Ladies Special trains running in Metropolitan cities are being escorted by lady RPF personnel. In other trains, where escorts are provided, the train escorting parties have been briefed to keep an extra vigil on the lady passengers traveling alone, ladies coaches en-route and at halting stations.
  6. Frequent announcements are made through the Public Address System to educate passengers to take precautions against theft, snatching, drugging, etc.
  7. Regular coordination is made with the State Police/GRP authorities at all levels for prevention of crime, registration of cases, their investigation, and maintenance of law & order in Railway premises as well as on running trains.
  8. An Integrated Security System (ISS) consisting of surveillance of vulnerable stations through Close Circuit Television Camera Network, Access Control, etc. has been sanctioned to improve surveillance mechanisms over 202 railway stations.
  9. Fixed CCTV cameras have been provided in 2019 coaches (up to November 2019) and 511 Railway stations (up to December 2019) for enhancing the security of passengers.
  10. Emergency Talk Back system and Closed Circuit Television Surveillance Cameras have been provided in ladies compartments/coaches of all newly manufactured Electrical Multiple Unit (EMU) and Air-conditioned rakes of Kolkata Metro. This system has also been provided in all newly manufactured air-conditioned EMU rakes. With a view to further fortify the security system, in addition to CCTV Cameras and Emergency Talk Back System, flasher lights have also been provided in lady's coaches in EMU rakes in South Eastern Railway. When the alarm chain of the coach is pulled, these lights will start blinking and the buzzer will start sounding till the resetting of the alarm chain.

The deployment of RPF guard including women personnel in ladies coaches is decided based on the vulnerability of the concerned train/sections, timing, location of the area, threat perception of the hinterland, analysis of past crime data among others. Therefore, the deployment is dynamic and keeps on changing from time to time.

In order to increase the representation of women in RPF to the level of 10%, 4517 out of 9739 vacancies notified in the year 2018 were notified for women. In this recruitment, 4376 women RPF personnel have been impaneled.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

About The Author

Ashwin Roy is an Indian fact-checker and news writer, writing news for Ayupp since 2014.

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