KOZHIKODE: On March 29, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court directed Railways to take measures to ensure the safety of passengers, especially women, on trains and at the stations. Three days later, passengers in the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express had a terrifying incident when an unidentified man boarded a reserved compartment, hurled petrol and set off a fire, resulting in the death of three and injuring nine.
The incident clearly points fingers at the lackadaisical attitude of the officials in ensuring the safety of rail users in the State, and it comes despite the lakhs of money spent on the upgradation of Kozhikode Railway Station.
The scanning machines installed at Kozhikode Railway Station to monitor the passengers’ luggage have not worked in the post-Covid period. Both this and the metal detectors installed at the station’s entrance have been left abandoned as the Railways could not supply enough staff for these security activities.
The lack of Traveling Ticket Regulators (TTRs) also means the train’s general compartment coaches are often left unchecked, leading to several criminal activities.
The All India Rail Users Association has demanded that CCTV cameras be installed even inside the train coaches in the model of Vande Bharat trains. This, they believe, will help curb the increasing violence and extortion happening on trains. “We had put forward this demand during several meetings with the Railways, but no positive action was taken,” said Dr A V Anoop, the association’s national chairman.
Meanwhile, C E Chakkunny, the convener of the Rail Users Association, said, “night patrolling and ticket checking, especially in general compartments, should be resumed, and CCTV cameras should be installed at all railway stations.” He further said, “along with the diligence shown by the Railways to increase revenue, priority should also be given to improving passenger safety and facilities.”
Responding to allegations in the wake of Sunday’s arson assault, Kozhikode Railway officials said that all measures are being taken to ensure the safety of passengers. These include providing Railway Protection Force escort in selected mail, express, and passenger trains between 6pm and 6am, round-the-clock deployment of Crime Prevention and Detection Squads, and installation of CCTV cameras in coaches. But some facilities at the station are not being effectively used due to a lack of staff, the officials added.