Railways Are the Easy Target of Every Political Programme, Yet Only 2,450 Police Guard Them: The Railway Police Chief's Frank Account

During any political programme, the railway is chosen as a very easy target — arson and cocktail attacks are carried out there. The words are those of Barrister Md Zillur Rahman, chief of the Bangladesh Railway Police and Additional IGP (in charge). By his account, with only about 2,500 railway police and, combined with the Railway Nirapatta Bahini (RNB), fewer than 4,000 personnel in total, it is impossible to secure the entire railway area, and attackers exploit that gap to carry out assaults and sabotage easily.

The Railway Police face wide-ranging challenges: ensuring passenger safety on the railways, preventing drug smuggling and mugging, stopping ticket black-marketing, and dealing with incidents such as train arson. They must also deal with dangerous rooftop travel. Despite a severe manpower shortage, he spoke frankly about how everything is being coordinated.

In his words, the biggest risk to railway safety is that passengers far exceed capacity. The coaches Bangladesh Railway can supply meet less than half of total demand. Far more passengers board trains than the number of tickets supplied, creating uncontrollable crowds at stations. Despite the risk of accidents, many passengers climb onto rooftops, creating a safety risk for everyone.

Criminals also choose trains as an easy medium for drug transport. Zillur Rahman says drug control is not the Railway Police's job alone. To stop drugs coming through the India and Myanmar borders, especially the Cox's Bazar border, the BGB, APBn, the Department of Narcotics Control and district police work together: the BGB works at the first level, the APBn next, and the department runs operations directly. But because of the railway's vast reach, the small number of police and comparatively limited searching, criminals pick trains as an easy channel for drug smuggling.

The hotspot routes for drug transport have also been identified. The Cox's Bazar, Brahmanbaria, Benapole and Darshana routes are used most. Police are aware of these hotspots and, by deploying members there, regularly seize large quantities of drugs and arrest offenders. But the scale of the problem is huge — a passenger train carries 500 to 600 passengers in around 30 coaches, against only three or four police members, who need half an hour just to walk from one end to the other.

Within these limits, one system is in place. As on aircraft, announcements are made on trains too — the on-duty 'TG party' (train guard) announces his identity and mobile number over the microphone. Passengers who fall victim to mugging or any other untoward incident can then contact police directly by phone, allowing quick action.

The manpower crisis is clearer in numbers. The Railway Police currently have only 2,450 personnel. For lack of adequate manpower, police cannot be deployed on freight trains or on more than half of passenger trains. An application has been made for at least 5,000 more personnel to secure all trains and freight containers. The Government Railway Police (GRP), begun in 1830, has a history of nearly 200 years.

The RNB is in a similar state. In the force, launched in 1980, only 1,300 people currently work against 3,000 approved posts. Around 1,700 posts lie vacant because of bureaucratic complications.

The two forces also have separate duties. The Railway Police's main task is passengers' overall safety from a train's departure to its destination. Through 24 police stations and 32 outposts they suppress crime, record cases, investigate, arrest accused persons and produce them in court. Preventing the transport of arms and illegal goods on trains, stopping ticket black-marketing and assisting TTEs also fall to the GRP. The RNB's main duty, by contrast, is guarding the roughly 5,000 kilometres of railway line and all railway assets and property — including coaches kept during washing, trains standing at stations at night, and movable and immovable property.

He also spoke about the use of technology. With the Railway Police's own funding, CCTV cameras have already been installed on three trains and at several important stations. Monitoring everywhere is mainly the railway authority's responsibility, and the Director General and other authorities have been urged on the matter. Major stations have been brought under CCTV, but the system has not yet been introduced at all stations; the railway authority says the matter is under process.

At field level, key-men and waymen work to prevent sabotage. Their job is to inspect the lines at regular intervals. Especially during political programmes, when screws or fishplates are removed from the lines, they check for such tampering. If they find anything abnormal, they inform the RNB or the Railway Police; when needed, they signal the guard, driver or station manager to halt the train. In cases of train arson or sabotage, action is taken against police found negligent in investigation, and equally against RNB members if their neglect is found, he said.

Explaining why dangerous rooftop travel during Eid and Puja cannot be brought under control, he returned to the demand-supply calculation. If demand is 100, supply is 50 seats, yet all 100 people want to reach their destination. Because fares are comparatively low, travel is safe and trains arrive on time, the other 50 also think they will get there even if it means riding on the roof. At huge stations like Kamalapur or Airport, there are two to three police and two RNB members — five people in total cannot control such a big station. At many stations a train stops for only 30 to 40 seconds or a minute, and people climb onto the roof before police can arrive. The lack of adequate fencing around stations is another problem.

His observation on ticket black-marketing is also clear. Since online ticketing began, black-marketing is no longer as widespread as before. But because no more than four tickets can be bought with one ID, dishonest rings use 10 to 15 IDs to buy 60 tickets and later sell them at higher prices. Using separate IDs makes them hard for the railway authority to identify. Police are nevertheless catching and arresting them, with punishments handed down on the spot through mobile courts. The Railway Police have informed the railway how the system can be improved to stop black-marketing completely.

Overall, the Railway Police chief's message is one — against a vast network, growing passenger pressure and the risk of sabotage, both manpower and technology lag far behind need. How quickly the application for at least 5,000 additional personnel and the process of installing CCTV at all stations are implemented will decide the future of rail passengers' safety.