Indian railways to fast-track installation of integrated security system

DELHI: Indian Railways would expedite work for installing equipment for bolstering the security of the passengers.

To strengthen the surveillance over sensitive and vulnerable stations, it is installing integrated security system. Railways is also strengthening its internal systems by ensuring maintenance of its assets, be it rolling stock or fixed assets.

“Safety of the passengers would be the topmost priority for Indian Railways,” said Mukul Roy, Minister of State for Railways. Though the number of consequential accidents has been showing a downward trend and the trend has continued on the first two months of this fiscal, there is a need to further reduce these accidents.

It is also looking to bolster its infrastructure but the present financial position of Railways demands an increase in the internal resource generation for financing the infrastructure requirement.

The organization has a stiff task ahead as it aims to achieve the estimated gross traffic receipts of Rs. 1,06,239 crore for the year 2011-12.

In order to increase earnings, it would go for ways like scrap disposal, publicity and commercial utilization of land.

It is also looking at renewable sources of energy like wind, solar to meet the energy requirements. Earlier this year, railway minister Mamta Banerjee had declared the year of ‘Green Energy’.

The Ministry had recently asked the Zonal managers to take all the adequate steps to ensure timely completion of target of 1075 kilometres new lines, 1017 kms of gauge conversion and 867 kms of doubling the lines in 2011-12.