US experts to train rly cops

Known as the “Anti-Terrorist Assistance Team”,the group included John Connor,Chief of Police,Amtrak Police Department; M Olson,Deputy Chief of Metro Transit Police,Washington; and Scot Allan,Regional Advisor,Co-ordinator for Counter-Terrorism for South Asia Office; besides security officials from the US missions in Delhi and Mumbai.

Officials said the team would also visit the Churchgate station on Western Railway on Thursday. “The visit was coordinated by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA),” said B S Sidhu,Chief Security Commissioner of the Central Railway. “The team spent around four hours at CST and Dadar and also reviewed the security at these stations. They also surveyed policing patterns and assured us of training our RPF men in railway security related aspects practised in their country.”

“The team did not pass any adverse comments nor did they appreciate any aspect,” said a senior RPF officer. “But the team was satisfied with the increased CCTV cameras at CST.”

The railways had increased the number of CCTV cameras at the station after the 26/11 attack,having found that some cameras were faulty. To have continuous recording of images,it also connected 80 cameras to its computer servers.

CST,Dadar and Churchgate are among the busiest stations not only in Mumbai’s suburban section but also across the country. Also,an average 6.8 million passengers use local trains daily. The visit assumes significance as Mumbai’s stations and trains have been targeted by terrorists in attacks that have together killed more than 200 people.

On its part,the Central Railway is working on Rs 60-crore Integrated Security Plan project for CST,Dadar,Thane,Kurla,Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Kalyan stations.