Press Information Bureau

Sanctioned strength of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) is 74,830, and 61,869 RPF personnel are on roll. Zone-Wise strength of Women Constables and their deployment details is as under:

S.No.	Zonal Railway	Women constable Strength
1	Central	107	They are deployed for duty at passenger areas, train escorting duties, bandobust duties, evictions, special drives in ladies compartments & disabled coaches and assistance to ticket checking duties.
2	East Coast	53
3	East Central	50
4	Eastern	121
5	North Central	66
6	North Eastern	76
7	Northeast Frontier	64
8	Northern	170
9	North Western	54
10	South Central	22
11	South East Central	29
12	South Eastern	104
13	Southern	125
14	South Western	37
15	West Central	58
16	Western	93
17	Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF)	399
18	Kokan	5
19	Jagjivan Ram RPF Academy	1
	Total	1634

 

In addition to exiting strength of women RPF personnel, 4,078 women constables and 298 Sub-Inspectors have been recruited/empanelled and are undergoing training.

Filling of vacancies is a continuous process in Security Department (Railway Protection Force). These vacancies arise due to retirements, promotions, deaths, resignations, etc., the same is filled up through open recruitments and departmental promotions as per the existing rules. During the last three years, recruitment drives have been initiated for various ranks, to fill up the existing vacancies and strengthen the Railway Protection Force (RPF). During the ongoing recruitments, 1,121 Sub-Inspectors (Executive), 8,619 Constables (Executive) & 798 Constables (Ancillary) vacancies were notified. The recruitment has been completed and total 1,121 Sub-Inspectors, 8,543 Constables (Executive) and 796 Constable (Ancillary) in RPF / RPSF have been empanelled.

Railway Protection Force (RPF) has been mandated for security of Railway Property besides security of passengers & passenger area as per RPF Act, 1957 and amendment in 2003. The cases of theft of railway property (Booked Consignment & Railway Material) are registered by RPF in the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 have shown a decreasing trend from 4,436 to 4,229 to 3,987 respectively. Recovery of stolen & misappropriated Railway Property had improved from Rs 2.48 cr. in 2017 to Rs 3.12 cr. in 2018 and further to Rs 4.37 cr. in 2019.

Following steps are being taken by the Railways to prevent theft of Railway Property:

1. All major railway stations, depots, yards and other vital installations are manned by Railway Protection Force round the clock.
2. Affected passengers & goods trains in vulnerable sections are being escorted.
3. Railway yards are provided with Tower lights, pathway for patrolling etc.
4. Frequent drives are conducted against undesirable elements in trains and railway premises to prevent such thefts.
5. Surveillance is being kept through Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, provided at about 522 Railway Stations and in 2136 coaches over Indian Railways.
6. Adequate security measures i.e. picketing, ambush etc. are done at identified black spots from time to time.
7. All cases of theft of Railway Property are promptly registered, investigated and arrest of criminals with prosecution as per law is ensured.
8. Railway material stacks at isolated locations are shifted to safer places which are manned.
9. Crime Intelligence Branch (CIB) of RPF keeps regular watch over the vulnerable places and collects intelligence from time to time about active criminals indulging in theft of Railway Property. Based on actionable intelligence against receivers of stolen Railway Properties raids are conducted.
10. Infrastructural and procedural security arrangements are in place to prevent theft/misappropriation of railway property.
11. Regular co-ordination meetings are conducted with Government Railway Police (GRP)/Civil Police for collection and sharing of criminal intelligence.

Indian Railways is committed to provide secure, safe and comfortable journey to all its passengers. Following steps are taken to strengthen RPF for security of passengers:-

0. 1. A Commando Battalion and Commando Training Center is being set up at Jagadhari Workshop, Haryana.
   2. 522 stations have been provided with CCTV cameras. All Railway Stations and passenger carrying trains are planned to be progressively provided with CCTV based surveillance system and Wi-Fi facility.
   3. An integrated security system is being implemented to strengthen surveillance mechanism over sensitive stations of the Indian Railways. The system consists of following four broad areas-
1. IP based CCTV surveillance system
2. Access control
3. Personal and baggage screening system
4. Bomb Detection and Disposal System
   4. Anti sabotage checks are undertaken with sniffer dogs at all major stations as well as in trains. Baggage scanners, Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMD) and Hand Held Metal Detectors (HHMD) are being used for screening passenger and their baggages.
   5. “RPF Security Management System” (RSMS) pilot project has been successfully implemented with networking of 187 locations. Application is being rolled out for networking of all RPF Posts.
   6. Training and capacity building facilities are being strengthened.
   7. RPF has also been empowered to exercise the powers & perform the duties specified under section 42 & 67 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act since 11.04.2019.
   8. All RPF Posts have been provided with Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) access which is integrated with RPF Security Management System.
   9. Recruitment of 4,078 and 298 lady constables and Sub-Inspectors respectively in RPF has been completed to enhance security of women passengers. Efforts are being made to use technology to increase the reach and effectiveness of RPF in the field of security and assistance to passengers.
   10. Close liaison is made by the Railways with the State Police/GRP authorities, Central & State Intelligence agencies and Civil authorities at all levels for prevention and detection of crime and maintenance of law & order in Railway premises as well as on running trains. 2019 coaches have been provided with Video Surveillance System till date.

This press release is based on information given by the Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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