KARACHI, June 10 With the terrorist threat looming large in the country, the railway authorities have tightened security at railway stations and deployed commandos on trains, in addition to the regular railway police escorts, to ensure the safety of those on board.

Sources told Dawn that railway police commandos have been deployed on all passenger trains running from Karachi's city and cantonment railway stations on a recent directive of the Inspector-General of the Railway Police, Raza Asghar Gardezi.

They said that commandos of the Karachi division were escorting passenger trains running on the main line till Tando Adam, and on branch lines till Dadu, Badin and the Zero Point, Khokhrapar. They pointed out that the jurisdiction of the Karachi railway division covered all stations up to Tando Adam.

They added that the latest initiative was part of a comprehensive plan made by the authorities to increase overall security of the railways following last year's terrorist attacks at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station.

Under the plan, closed-circuit television cameras have also been installed at major railway stations of the country. At Karachi Cantonment Railway Station, the CCTV cameras were installed in March 2009.

“Twenty-six cameras are functioning here at the Karachi Cantt Station,” a railway police official told Dawn on condition of anonymity.

He said that the parking area, platforms, reservation and various other sec

tions of the station were under a 24-hour watch through the CCTV cameras. He explained that there were two digital recording systems, each having a space of 500 gigabytes. “One of the systems has 10 channels, which generally keeps a three-week record. Since the other system is linked with 16 cameras, its recording capacity is not more than two weeks,” he added.

He said there were four policewomen and two policemen deputed in the 'vigilance room' set up at the station to monitor the live footage in three shifts. He said that the railway police, with the help of these cameras, kept a watchful eye on suspicious elements and unattended baggage.

“Only last month, we returned 12 unattended bags to their owners after carrying out identification formalities, while 28 unclaimed bags were deposited in the lost property office (LPO) of the cantonment railway station,” he said.

In addition to the CCTV cameras, walkthrough gates have been installed at the main entrance to check all people arriving at platforms.

However, passengers and their attendants at the cantonment railway station reject security claims of the authorities, saying that there are still several unguarded entrances to the platforms.

People without a train or platform ticket can easily access a platform or board a train since few security checks are in place, they say, adding that they rarely see any railway police personnel making regular patrols.

Many passengers who Dawn spoke to were of the opinion that the cantonment station could be a soft target for terrorists and the authorities should have come up with extraordinary security steps in view of the threat. “If they (the government) can secure the airport by placing a number of security checks on travellers and visitors, why can't the same measures be adopted here?” a passenger questioned.

When the same question was posed to railway police, they said it would only create fear among people and cause inconvenience to travellers. Then there were resource constraints the police were given neither reasonable salaries nor modern equipment, they added.

Talking to Dawn, head of the Karachi division Railway Police SSP Muzaffar Shaikh confirmed the deployment of commandos on trains, saying that the initiative was taken on the orders of the railway police IG.

He said only railway policemen were earlier deputed on trains to ensure the safety of travellers. He said the current security situation in the country warranted the enhanced safety arrangements for train passengers.

Mr Shaikh said the railway division of Karachi had a force of over 1,350 policemen, adding that their effective use was necessary to secure over 20 running trains and several railway stations falling under its area of responsibility.

Under the new arrangement, one commando had been deployed in each engine driver's cabin to thwart any attempt by terrorists to sabotage a train's operation, the SSP said.

Mr Shaikh said “Overall 50 commandos of the Karachi division of Pakistan Railways have been deployed.” Other divisions have also made such arrangements to secure their respective areas of jurisdiction.

The sources said that the Pakistan Railways had trained four batches of commandos until a couple of years ago at its Walton Academy in Lahore. Named after Col C.E. Walton, the Agent (as the General Manager was then known) of the North Western Railways in 1925, the academy conducts pre-service induction training, promotion and refresher courses yearly for railway staff of all grades, disciplines and departments. The sources said the training was discontinued after personnel's transfers.

When a senior official of the railway police was asked about it, he said the training was stopped because the Pakistan Railways did not need more commandos. “Whenever the need arises, the railway academy will invite names of course participants,” he added.