CCTV at Railway Stations

At present, Close Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV) have been installed at 344 railway stations over Indian Railways. Prevention and detection of crime, registration of cases and their investigation over Railways is the statutory responsibility of States which is being discharged by them through the Government Railway Police (GRP).

Timely registration of cases, speedy investigation, inter-State coordination among GRPs of respective States, etc. are important factors in tackling crime over Railways. Availability of CCTV cameras at railway stations may act as deterrent, however, absence of CCTV cameras is not a major factor in tackling crime at railway stations.

Security has been identified as one of the priority areas by Railways for strengthening and upgradation of security system in Railway. CCTV surveillance system already forms part of an Integrated Security System (ISS) and 202 stations have been identified as sensitive for the purpose of installation of ISS. Railways have further planned to install Video Surveillance System (VSS) at balance A1, A, B & C category 983 stations under Nirbhaya Fund. In addition, Railway Protection Force, (RPF) under the Ministry of Railways, supplements efforts of States to ensure security of passengers. Besides initiating physical security measures like escorting of trains, access control, rendering security related assistance through Security Helpline (182), prosecution of offenders under relevant provisions of the Railways Act, RPF maintains close coordination/liaison with GRPs of respective States to check crime over Railways.

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GPS based Display Boards in Trains

Indian Railways have planned to install GPS based Passenger Information System (PIS) on important mail/express trains in about 300 rakes in a phased manner. At present, GPS based Passenger Information System is installed only in Gatiman Express.

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Capacity Augmentation Over Railway Network

As number of routes on the existing network are intensively utilized and saturated, Capacity enhancement works such as Doubling, New line, Gauge Conversion, Electrification and Traffic Facility Works on busy and congested routes have been accorded high priority and given increased funds.

Many remote regions have remained devoid of railway connectivity. A number of network expansion projects, even though un remunerative, have been taken up by Railways to provide connectivity to such areas.

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Doubling of Railway Tracks

Indian Railways has set a target of 11,100 km of doubling from the year 2015 to 2020 to NITI Aayog. In the year 2014-15 and 2015-16, 1695 km doubling of tracks have been commissioned.

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Railway Line upto Myanmar Border

Indian Railways carried out a feasibility study in 2005 through Rail India Technical & Economic Services Ltd. (RITES), a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of Ministry of Railways for a link from Jiribam in India to Mandalay in Myanmar via Imphal. This includes the missing link of approximately 360 km from Jiribam (India) to Kalay (Myanmar) via Moreh(India) / Tamu (Myanmar). The Jiribam-Imphal Section (125 km) is a sanctioned work. The portions from Imphal to Moreh (111 km) and from Tamu to Kalay (128 km) in Myanmar have not been sanctioned.

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Rehabilitation work of Coaches of Trains

Revamping interiors of identified coaches and making them ultra modern to the extent feasible is a continuous process on Indian Railways. In the recent past, one rake with revamped interiors -2- having vibrant colour scheme, additional amenities, etc. has been inducted as Mahamana Express running between New Delhi and Varanasi.

Carriage Rehabilitation Workshop, Bhopal, Mid-life Rehabilitation Workshop, Jhansi and Loco Workshop, Parel (Central Railway), Mumbai have been identified and Mid-life Rehabilitation of coaches is carried out at these locations. Also, Coach Rehabilitation Workshop, Kurnool (South Central Railway) is a new project in hand.

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Action Plan to Transform Indian Railways

Ministry of Railways have drawn up an investment plan of Rs. 8.56 lakh crore over the next five years (2015-2019) as indicated in the Rail Budget 2015-2016. Apart from budgetary resources and internal generation funds through institutional financing, Public Private Partnership and Debt etc. forms part of the Investment Plan. There has been positive response from private sector for investment in rolling stock manufacturing units, Wagon Investment Schemes, Private Freight Terminals, building rail connectivities, station redevelopment etc.

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Facilities of Medical Aid in Trains

All passenger carrying trains are provided with the First Aid Boxes containing essential drugs and dressing materials. In addition, Augmented First Aid Boxes with wide range of medicines, disposable medical material, etc. have been provided with the Train Superintendents/ Guards of Rajdhani/Shatabdi Express trains and some nominated trains. Front line staffs deployed on trains are also trained in rendering First Aid. Trains can also make unscheduled halts, if necessary, at the stations en-route in emergencies. The Station Masters of all stations have details of doctors, clinics & hospitals, both Government and Private, in the vicinity of the station, so that their services could also be availed, in emergencies. Ambulance service of both Railway hospitals and State Governments are utilized when required.

A three digit number “138” has been allotted for “Railway help line other than Security”. Passengers can dial this number from their mobile phones during emergencies and contact the Divisional Control for the help/ assistance required.

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Use of Solar and Wind Energy by Indian Railways

Indian Railways (IR) proposes to harness 1000 Mega Watt (MW) solar power by 2020. As part of this, about 500 MW solar plants are planned on rooftop and about 500 MW through land mounted panels. IR also proposes to harness about 150 MW wind energy, by itself or through Railway Energy Management Company Limited (REMCL). A total of about 50 MW renewable energy capacity has been installed till July 2016, including approximately 13 MW solar and 37 MW wind plants.

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Measures for Streamlining Railway Ticketing

Indian Railways, to streamline the ticket booking system including Tatkal reservation and to check its misuse, has taken the following steps:

(i) Passengers have been given the option to book reserved tickets either through computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS) terminals of Indian Railways, or through internet or through authorized agents like e-ticketing agents, Yatri Ticket Suvidha Kendra (YTSK) licensees.

(ii) It has now been made mandatory that for undertaking in reserved class, one of the passengers has to produce one of the prescribed proof of identity in original failing which all the passengers will be treated as travelling without ticket and charged accordingly.

(iii) A provision has been made in the computerized Passenger Reservation System(PRS) to ensure preparation of reservation charts at least four hours before scheduled departure of train and thereafter passenger can book the available accommodation through internet or across any computerized PRS center, till preparation of second reservation charts.

(iv) Surprise checks are conducted by the Commercial/Vigilance Departments to prevent and check irregularities in the reservation system.

(v) No refund is granted on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal ticket.

(vi) The facility of change of name is not permitted on the booking made under Tatkal Scheme.

(vii) The timings of opening of booking under Tatkal scheme on the opening day of reservation have been staggered to 1000 hours and 1100 hours on the previous day of journey from train originating station for AC and non-AC classes respectively.

(viii) Authorized ticketing agents have been restricted from booking Tatkal tickets during the first thirty minutes of opening of Tatkal booking i.e. from 1000 hours to 1030 hours and from 1100 hours to 1130 hours for air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned classes respectively.

(ix) Web service agents have been permitted to book only one Tatkal ticket per train per day

(x) Maximum four passengers per PNR are permitted for Tatkal Tickets. Individuals are allowed only 2 Tatkal tickets per IP Address from 1000 hours to 1200 hours and maximum number of tickets allowed to an individual user is limited to 6 per month.

(xi) CCTVs are installed at important PRS locations to monitor the activity of touts.

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Expansion and Upgradation of Konkan Railways

Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) has made a request to all its shareholders to infuse additional equity to fund its expansion plans, such as doubling of various sections in phases, splitting of critical block sections, etc. based on the operational requirements.

Upgradation of passenger facilities is an ongoing activity on KRCL. This includes, inter-alia, provision of benches, Escalator/Travelator, new platforms, foot over bridges, modular shelter, food court, bio-toilets, new halt station etc. Sanctioned works of capacity expansion include: Doubling of Roha - Veer (46.89 km), electrification of Konkan Railway route from Roha to Thokur (740 Km), construction of 11 additional crossing stations and additional loop lines at 8 stations.

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Measures to Minimize Accidents on Railway Tracks in Mumbai

Indian Railways is implementing the following measures to minimize the accidents on railway tracks specially in Mumbai:-

• Announcements are being made through PA system and also given wide publicity in mass media by concerned department about the impending dangers and resultant penalties.

• Railway Protection Force/ Railway Protection Special Force staff are deployed at various locations to check trespassing.

• Hooters are blown by RPF at the suspect trespassing points to prevent trespassing.

• “Anmol Jeevan’-a concerted effort by School children, NGOs, RPF and commercial departments- is organized at regular intervals for the awareness of passengers.

• Drives named “Track Suraksha Jeevan Raksha” by RPF and “Naya Jeevan Nayi Aasha” by Commercial department have been launched over suburban section of Mumbai with the help of NGOs, scouts and Lion Club etc.

• Unauthorized entry and exit points are being blocked.

• Necessary signboards/posters regarding “Do not cross railway line” & “Don’t travel on roof top/foot board” are in place on platforms/ station premises, for the awareness of passengers.

• Regular drives are conducted against trespassers under the provisions of the Railways Act, 1989.

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Schools on Indian Railways Land

Ministry of Railways have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in February, 2010 with Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) for development of educational facilities for wards of railway employees as well as of children living in the vicinity of railway habitations. This MOU, inter-alia, envisages setting up of 50 Civil Sector Kendriya Vidyalayas by Ministry of HRD on the land to be provided by Railways during 11th and 12th Plan periods. Pursuant thereto, Ministry of HRD has sanctioned twelve new Kendriya Vidyalayas namely at Carriage Repair Workshop Harnaut (Bihar), Cast Wheel Plant, Bela (Bihar), Railway Campus, Nanded (Maharashtra), Railway Campus, Rangiya (Assam), Freeland Ganj Railway Colony, Dahod (Gujarat), Krishnarajapuram Diesel Loco Shed Colony, Bangalore (Karnataka), Shakurbasti, West Punjabi Bagh(Delhi), Bandel Railway Colony, Hooghly (West Bengal), Angul (Odisha), Golden Rock, Tiruchirapally (Tamil Nadu), Modern Coach Factory, Raebareily (Uttar Pradesh) and Jhajha, Jamui (Bihar).

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Complaint Redressal Mechanism of Indian Railways

Indian Railways has set up different channels of registering passengers complaints/grievances viz., Complaint Books, May I help you booth/Counters at the Stations, All India Help line No.-138, Centralized Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System - 2 - (CPGRAMS), Complaint Management System (COMS), Social Media etc. Large numbers of grievances including complaints on poor service/hygiene, negligence of duties etc. are received through these channels which are sent to the concerned authorities for prompt and speedy redressal. Regular, periodical and surprise checks are being conducted at officers/supervisors level and corrective action is taken on deficiency so pointed out. A system of daily feedback from passengers on quality of services being provided at stations and in trains has been put in place. Feedback so received on quality of services from passengers are analysed and unsatisfactory ones are sent to Division/Zones for appropriate action.

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Shri A.K.Mital reappointed as Chairman, Railway Board for a period of 2 years w.e.f. 1st August 2016

The current Chairman Railway Board Shri A.K.Mital has been reappointed as the new Chairman, Railway Board for a period of 2 years i.e. till he attains the age of 62 years, w.e.f. 01.08.2016.

Shri A.K. Mital was appointed as Chairman, Railway Board on 31st December 2014. Prior to this appointment, Shri A.K.Mital was Member Staff, Railway Board. Earlier, he served as General Manager of South Western Railway-SWR (Headquarters Hubli) and was also looking after the additional charge of General Manager, South Central Railway- SCR (Headquarters Secunderabad).

Born on 7th July 1956, Shri Mital is a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons.). An Officer of 1976 batch of Indian Railways Service of Stores (IRSS), Shri A.K. Mital has worked on various important posts on Indian Railways. He was Director/Stores, Executive Director/Vigilance and Executive Director/Stores in Railway Board, Ministry of Railways. He has worked as Chief Material Manager in Northern Railway.

He was Divisional Railway Manager of Izzatnagar Division in North Eastern Railway and Controller of Stores in South Central Railway/Secunderabad and Diesel Locomotive Works/Varanasi. Before joining Railway Board as Member Staff, he was General Manager of South Western Railway/Hubli. He has also held additional charge of three major Railways viz., Southern Railway, South Central Railway and Central Railway as General Manager for more than 12 months. Shri Mital has undergone training in USA and France.

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Railway Station Redevelopment

As proposed by World Research Institute (WRI), India, a capacity building workshop was held in March 2016 by Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC) at New Delhi to discuss a case study on Hudson Yards, New York. This workshop was aimed at capacity building and gaining learning experience.

Five railway stations viz., Anand Vihar, Bijwasan, Chandigarh, Habibganj (Bhopal), Shivaji Nagar (Pune) were initially entrusted, in first phase, to IRSDC for redevelopment. Later on, Gandhinagar, SAS Nagar (Mohali) and Surat stations were also entrusted to IRSDC for redevelopment.

In addition, Indian Railways has advertised its plan to redevelop ‘A-1’ and ‘A’ category stations which are generally located in metros, major cities, pilgrimage centres and important tourist destinations on ‘as is where is’ basis, by inviting proposals from interested parties with their designs and business ideas. The entire cost of station redevelopment is to be met by leveraging commercial development of land and air space in and around the stations.

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Rail Ticket Reservation Center of Indian Railways

At present, Indian Railways is having ticket reservation facility at 3604 locations across the country. The computerised reservation centres are provided as per policy at District Headquarters, important hill stations/tourist & pilgrimage centres/post offices on the basis of proposals received from public/public representatives and the zonal railways as per technical feasibility and commercial justification. Additionally, online reserved ticketing has become very popular and about 58% of reserved tickets are now booked online by passengers from comfort of their homes. Hence, it is no longer required to travel to reservation office for booking of reserved accommodation on trains.

In addition to this Indian Railways also started railway ticket reservation facility at 08 post offices in following locations in Chattisgarh: Jashpur Nagar, Korba, Bemetara Baloda Bazar, New Mantralaya, Kanker, Kawardha, Khairagarh

This Press Release is based on information given by the Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 03.08.2016 (Wednesday).

CCTV at Railway Stations