01-07-2025
Tiruchi Railway Protection Force ropes in RPSF personnel for escort duty in trains
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Tiruchi Division has increased the strength of its escort teams deployed on board different express trains by engaging Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) personnel as well for security-related tasks.
The move comes in the wake of the arrival of a batch of about 60 RPSF personnel attached to the 15th Battalion of the force last month to support and assist the RPF personnel of Tiruchi Division, in view of manpower constraints faced by it, in security duties.
The RPSF personnel have been deployed at Villupuram and Tiruchi railway junctions - two important stations falling under the limits of the Tiruchi Division. A little over 30 RPSF personnel have been deployed at Tiruchi Junction and about 23 personnel at Villupuram Junction, said RPF sources.
Manpower constraints in the RPF of Tiruchi Division had prompted the authorities to make a request for RPSF personnel, which was accepted by the Railway Board, New Delhi. Consequent to the arrival of the RPSF personnel, the strength of each escort team has been increased from two to four.
The increase in the strength of the escort teams was put in place a couple of weeks ago. RPSF personnel with arms form part of the escort teams that are deployed daily in about 25 trains either originating in Tiruchi Division, or when they pass through the Division's limits, the sources said.
The escort teams involving both RPF and RPSF personnel are being deployed especially in night trains, including Tiruchi-Chennai Rockfort Express, in an effort to check crimes on board trains and ensure the safety of the travellers. The RPSF personnel were being deployed on rotation to be part of the train escort teams. The express trains are also changed when it comes to deployment of the escort teams, the sources further said.
The deployment of the teams teams is based on the vulnerability after analysing crimes such as theft of passenger belongings on board trains. The escort personnel are usually sent in pairs with one from the RPF and the other from the RPSF.
The Tiruchi Railway Division has two major sections under its limits: the chord line stretch from Villupuram to Tiruchi via Vriddhachalam, Ariyalur and Srirangam, and the main line section from Villupuram to Thanjavur via Cuddalore, Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai and Kumbakonam. Several intra-state and inter-state express trains pass through these sections.
