Central Railway forms team for relief work during rain

THANE: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Central Railway (CR) has formed a railway flood relief team (RFRT) to assist commuters in case of waterlogging during monsoon.
The announcement was made by Alok Kansal, GM, Central and Western Railway during a drill held by this team at Talao Pali in Thane on Tuesday morning.
The development comes a year after hundreds of passengers aboard the Mahalakshmi express were stranded at Badlapur wherein the need for a more prompt and localised rescue mechanism from the railways was felt.
"Each team will have a sub-inspector/assistant sub-inspector and six staff from the RPF and will be deployed at Thane, CSMT, Matunga, Badlapur and Kurla stations. Each of the teams will have an inflatable motor-powered boat. So far, 5 women and 10 men have been trained by NDRF and more personnel will soon be added," said a railway official.
“Our teams are trained by NDRF and are ready to handle any emergencies. The teams will be active between June to October every year and monitor areas during high tide or heavy rain predictions and also coordinate with local civic bodies,” said Arun Kumar, director general, RPF, Railway Board, New Delhi.
The railway teams also apprised the media about the pre-monsoon actions taken over Mumbai suburban sections of Central and Western Railways, including constructing additional waterways in addition to customized solutions, for perennial flooding spots.