Railways allots fixed seats for security personnel aboard

It will help passengers approach cops in hour of need. Archive

LIKE travelling ticket examiners (TTE) aboard trains, security personnel working with the Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) will too have a reserved seat which will help passengers approach them in hour of need. For the first time, the TTEs will also get closed user group (CUG) telephone facility so that they can perform their duties in a better manner.

The Railway Board last week brought out a circular stating that depending on the number of security personnel manning the train, enough number of seats should be reserved in the coach.

“One side lower berth (berth no.63 in S1 coach) may be earmarked for the GRP or RPF in sleeper class coach in the entire train in which this staff is travelling. To make it clearer, if the train is being escorted by the GRP, then a berth should be earmarked for the GRP and in case the train is escorted by the RPF, one berth in sleeper class will be earmarked for the RPF. In case no RPF or GRP is escorting the train, no accommodation will be earmarked for them,” reads a circular issued by the Railway Board on November 21.

According to the circular, in case the number of staff manning the train on regular basis as per the roster is less, the number of berths to be earmarked for onboard ticket checking staff can be reduced and the same can be reviewed also subsequently, based on manning on the regular basis subject to maximum yardstick. The excess berths should be allotted to RAC passengers.

TTEs who until now enjoyed a reserved berth in express trains — Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express, Jan-Shatabdi Express — will also get to have a reserved seat in newer trains such as Duronto, Humsafar and Suvidha Special Trains.

“The decision has been taken considering that having a fixed seat for security personnel will be helpful to the passengers as it would be easier for them to find the policeman. Also, the policemen will have a designated space to keep their belongings and don’t need to carry it around when they are patrolling the coaches,” said a senior official with Pune Division.

Activists feel that while providing a designated reserved sitting for the GRP and RPF men is a good move, it should be seen that they do not “sell” the reserved seat to passengers in lieu of cash. “It’s often noticed that the TTE, who used to earlier have berth number 7 reserved, used to sell to the passengers who don’t have a confirmed seat. It has to be seen that they don’t indulge in such illegal activity,” said Harsha Shah of Railway Pravasi Group.