No more lost baggage in trains

CHENNAI: An integrated security system to enhance surveillance in railway stations is coming up in seven major suburban railway stations in Chennai and neighbouring Tiruvallur.As part of the network, control rooms are being set up at Egmore and Tambaram railway stations. The work will be completed in four months. Besides, baggage scanners, closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, bomb blankets, door-frame metal detectors, hand-held metal detectors and explosive detection and disposal system would also be installed.Inaugurating a website for lost items, an initiative of the Railway Protection Force, here on Friday, S Anantharaman, Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai Division, underlined that security within railway premises was the prime focus and is bolstered in times of threats. Asked about two wheeler parking problems in the suburban railway stations, he said that steps had been taken to address the grievances of passengers in this regard. “I made personal visits enquiring about the hardships faced by the commuters who use the parking space. Their complaints were sorted out,” he added. Commenting on increasing the rakes of Electric Multiple Units from 9 to 12, he said that three more EMUs on the Beach-Tambaram section were set to get additional rakes. On the newly launched website, Anantharaman said that the information about articles recovered from the trains would be uploaded in the portal and those who missed these valuables could claim it from the Lost Property Office by providing necessary documents. Details of 83 lost articles, which the RPF had recovered, had been displayed on the website, he stated. According to a press release, RPF staff recover unclaimed articles from trains and railway premises and deposit them with the Platform Inspectors in Chennai Central and Egmore stations, while in the smaller stations, the lost articles are handed over to the station manager or station master. The Platform Inspector and Station Master normally keep these articles up to one week. If there is no claimant for the articles, these items are sent to the Chief Goods Supervisor at the Lost Property Office in Salt Cotaurs in Chennai. The items sent to Lost Property Office are kept for three months depending upon the nature of the items deposited. The passengers who have left their belongings/valuables can contact Platform Inspector/Station Manager & The Chief Goods Supervisor, Lost Property Office, Salt Cotaurs, to explain the identity of the lost property and get back their belongings. SR Gandhi, Additional Divisional Security Commissioner, Railway Protection Force and senior officials were present on the occasion.