RPF to get modern weapons, vehicles to ensure passenger safety

  According to a senior Railway Ministry official, Rs 67 crore has been sanctioned for RPF to procure security related equipment including 3,000 AK 47 rifles, 1,000 INSAS assault rifles (5.56mm), 100 Light Machine Guns (5.56mm).
The board has cleared Rs 14.26 crore for acquiring vehicles for RPF officials.
Railways also plan to station its own bomb disposal squads at around 100 major stations identified as sensitive or vulnerable across the country besides installing hi-tech closed circuit television cameras and X-ray machines to screen passengers, the officer said.
The scheme will be implemented in two phases -- first phase for metropolitan cities and second phase for other important stations, he said.
The present modernisation plan is in addition of Rs 400-crore "Integrated Security System", that aims to strengthen the current surveillance mechanism.
RPF also proposes to recruit 25,000 highly trained personnel for security and safety of passengers

According to the official, 22,000 personnel in non-gazetted posts and three Battalions (3,000 men) of Railway Protection Security Force (RPSF) will be trained to tackle modern crimes, naxals and terrorism.
"Railways is examining the proposal of recruiting these personnel. And, it is soon expected to get approval from the Railway Board," an RPF official said.
These security men, official say, will be deployed in trains running in naxal infested areas under Eastern, Northern, North Eastern Railway among other Railway networks.
"Railways is prone to terror attacks. Anti-social elements consider it a soft target. Hence, to better deal with such possibilities we have decided to equip our men with advanced weapons and training," he said.
Railways has also joined hands with the Army to impart specialised training to nearly 6,000 personnel of the Railway Territorial Army (RTA) and develop a state-of-the-art institute in Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh) at the cost of Rs five crore.
At present, there are six RTA regiments at Kota, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Jamalpur (Jharkhand), Jhansi and Adra (West Bengal), which are training around 6,000 personnel.