Are our trains any safer?

The serial blasts that rocked seven suburban trains in 11 minutes on July 11, 2006 were a jolt that the railway authorities just could not ignore.

And, they went about revamping the practically non-existent security network. The first steps are now being taken and the entire network, it is claimed, will be modern and ready to thwart terror attacks by the end of 2008.

"We have been procuring CCTVs, cameras, doorframe metal detectors and handheld metal detectors," said a senior railway official. "We will also be deploying explosive and vapour detectors."

But given the volume of traffic that the Western and Central Railway handle, officials have realised that restricting the number of access points to stations may not be a good idea. "Usually, airports have just one entry point, making it easier to enforce security regulations," said an official.

"Suburban train stations  have at least three entry points, apart from the numerous unofficial ones that have cropped up." Restricting access points will lead to delays, upsetting the carefully orchestrated train schedule.

The Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), an arm of the Indian Railways, has been specifically tasked to procure portable security devices.

"We need to design equipment as per our requirements," said a railway official. In the first phase, these handheld explosive and vapour detectors will be deployed in mainline stations like Mumbai Central, Bandra Terminus, Borivili, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. Later, they will be deployed in suburban stations.

But Western and Central Railway are already procuring cameras and detectors. "We have 78 cameras across seven important stations on the suburban section of Central Railway.

These will be increased and gradually all stations will be covered," said senior division security commissioner of Central Railway SC Parhi.

Western Railway, instead, has given a contract to Zicom Electronic Security Systems. Under this contract, WR will hire 537 cameras. "We have 57 cameras and 530 more would be added early next year covering a large section of suburban stations," said Western Railway general manager AK Jhingron.

"These measures mean a lot to Mumbaikars who have experienced the train bombings last year. People in Mumbai react to slightest of rumour of bombs being planted at railway stations," said an official from the WR.