1 Trains from (dlk)dalkolha to (RGJ)RAIGANJ

The General Manager of Northeast Frontier Railway Shri Anshul Gupta held a review meeting with the Members of Parliament (MPs) whose constituencies are served by Alipurduar and Katihar divisions, at New Jalpaiguri o­n 26^th September, 2022. Altogether eleven Members of Parliament were present at the meeting which included Shri John Barla, Hon’ble Union Minister of State of Minority Affairs, Govt. of India, Hon’ble MPs of Rajya Sabha Shri Rwngwra Narzary (Assam) & Smt. Shanta Chhetri (West Bengal); Hon’ble MPs of Lok Sabha Shri Dulal Chandra Goswami (Katihar), Shri Santosh Kumar (Purnia), Shri Pradeep Kumar Singh (Araria), Ms. Debasree Chaudhuri (Raiganj), Shri Khagen Murmu (Maldaha Uttar), Shri Raju Bista (Darjeeling), Dr. Jayanta Kumar Roy (Jalpaiguri), Dr. Sukanta Majumdar (Balurghat). Senior railway officials from Katihar, Alipurduar divisions of N. F. Railway and from Headquarters were also present in the meeting.

The General Manager of N. F. Railway while welcoming all MPs highlighted various o­ngoing developmental and survey works being carried out by the N. F. Railway with specific reference to areas under Alipurduar and Katihar divisions. Suggestions and views from all the public representatives present were welcomed for further betterment of services and amenities. The General Manager mentioned that N. F. Railway has given emphasis o­n faster adoption of PM Gati Shakti in all the states for handling of both outward and inward traffic. He said that more and more Kisan Rails are being operated to export the local produces outside the state. He also informed the Hon’ble members present about the Intrusion Detection System to be introduced within NFR to avert possibility of train-elephant collision. He further informed regarding implementation of o­ne station o­ne product at various stations over NFR to help the local entrepreneur to showcase and sell the products and crafts of local area. General Manager also explained the members present about various initiatives being taken to further promote the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO world heritage site.

The Hon’ble MPs also flagged off a new tri-weekly AC passenger train from New Jalpaiguri station. The new AC passenger train with Vistadome coach will run between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling and will be helpful to fulfil the demand of tourists visiting this area.

All the Hon’ble MPs had a very productive interactive session with the high railway officials. The MPs suggested extension and improvement of railway connectivity, passenger amenities and upgradation of stations etc. The General Manager stated that the suggestions and views offered by the Hon’ble Members would be reviewed with paramount importance.

RailTel, a Mini Ratna Central Government PSU under Ministry of Railways, entrusted with the implementation of Video Surveillance System (VSS) project (CCTV cameras network) under Nirbhaya Fund at Railway Stations has taken a major step by finalizing the agencies for executing the job. First phase of the project will cover major stations of category A1, A, B, C numbering 756 and is likely to be completed by January 2023. Ministry of Railways has approved works for provision of Video Surveillance System over Indian Railways major stations under Nirbhaya funds.

08 Railway stations within the jurisdiction of N.F. Railway will also be covered under this project in first phase. Purnea Jn, Raiganj & Samsi stations under Katihar Division; Agartala station under Lumding Division; Barpeta Road & Bongaigaon stations under Rangiya Division; Jorhat Town & Tinsukia stations under Tinsukia Divisons are to be covered with Video Surveillance System.

The remaining stations will be covered in phase-2 of implementation. Safety and security of passengers is o­ne of the key focus areas of Ministry of Railways. In order to enhance security at Railway stations which are major hubs of transportation, Indian Railways is in the process of installing Internet Protocol (IP) based Video Surveillance System (VSS) at stations, that is, waiting halls, reservation counters, parking areas, main entrance/ exit, platforms, foot over bridges, booking offices etc.

The system implemented shall act as tool to respond to situations/incidents effectively, aiding faster decision making. It will also act as a great learning for better preparedness to meet any incident and eventualities with some software based application like Video Analytic and Face Recognition, as per Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO). Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled analytics software has advanced technical features with a certain alarm and PoP UP view at the Operator end.

The integrated command and control centre and IP based Video Surveillance System will help in providing better security to passengers, especially the women passengers. It will enable quick and coordinated action from RPF and also assist them in crowd management and crowd control.