Over 6,000 RPF personnel, 1,000 coaches ready for Lok Sabha election

NEW DELHI: Gearing up for Lok Sabha polls, the Railways has kept 75 companies of RPF ready for deployment in various parts of the country during the election time.

One RPF company consists of about 90 personnel. Railway has also provided about 1,000 coaches for the movement of polling staff and security personnel to poll-bound areas.

There are total 6,750 RPF personnel and about 50 trains having 1,000 coaches being made available for the polling exercise, a senior Railway Ministry official said.

The deployment of RPF personnel is more this time as compared to the last Lok Sabha elections in 2009.

"There were 60 RPF companies deployed during the last Lok Sabha elections in 2009," he said adding "the requirement of security personnel is more this time."

The official said the RPF deployment is likely to be in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

Railways play a key role in providing logistic support during the general elections.

Currently about 1,000 coaches are being pressed into service and more coaches can be made available if required during the elections, the official said.

Some trains carrying polling materials and staff have been already dispatched to Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and Tamil Nadu and more such services are being planned for other states as well.