MUMBAI, 31 May 2008 — The Central Railway has installed an X-ray machine to scan passengers’ luggage at the busy Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai’s main train station. Passengers traveling to outstation destinations will now have to report hours before their scheduled time of departure.
The baggage screening of long-distance passengers will boost security at the train station, said a senior Railway Protection Force (RPF) official.
The machine, installed May 17, underwent a trial run and scanned the baggage of passengers waiting to board long-distance mail and express trains. The divisional security commandant of the RPF, S.C Padhi, said passengers boarding long-distance trains from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus must reach the station well in advance for baggage checking and avoid missing the train.
Padhi said the RPF could also scan the baggage of anyone moving about suspiciously at the station. “RPF officials will keep an eye on passengers and those found moving about suspiciously will be called and their baggage scanned,” said Padhi, adding this would help reduce security threats.
According to the RPF, the machine is capable of identifying explosives. RPF officials had a good experience on Day 1 after the machine was installed near the reservation counter. “Passengers who came to board long-distance trains came forward and cooperated with us,” said Padhi.
S. Gopalswami, who came to board a train to Chennai yesterday afternoon, was surprised when he saw a long queue. “Initially, I feared that I would miss the train. But then I realized the passengers were there to put their baggage through the X-ray machine,” he said.
Sudhir Chatterjee, a passenger traveling to Kolkata, said: “It is a good step taken by the authorities. It will certainly help avoid the kind of serial blasts that occurred in the local trains in 2006.”
