Upgradation of RPF security helpline on the anvil

Distress calls made by harried rail passengers to the Security Helpline of Railway Protection Force (RPF), Tiruchi Division will soon be monitored by the Railway Board authorities in New Delhi.

The system of monitoring calls at the top-level is proposed to be put in place as part of an effort to upgrade the security helpline of the RPF which is vested with the responsibility of ensuring safety of rail travellers.

The move towards upgradation has already begun with the installation of an Automatic Calling Device at the RPF Divisional Security Control Room here. The control room acts as the nerve centre of the RPF attending calls round-the-clock made by passengers to the security helpline seeking assistance.

The helpline was launched to enable passengers seeking assistance of the RPF in case of theft of their belongings, crimes committed against them in trains or railway premises, to convey information regarding any nuisance caused on board a train or in railway premises, information on suspicious looking objects in railway premises or any other security-related issues.

RPF authorities here said upgradation of the security helpline was on the cards as part of which the Automatic Calling Device has been installed at the divisional security control room here. Five computer systems are proposed to be procured and installed at the security control room to key in information received from passengers who make calls to the helpline.

Post upgradation, the system would automatically transmit the information to the jurisdiction officer concerned for necessary remedial action as well to the Railway Board authorities at New Delhi and to the concerned passenger through SMS, said the authorities.

Once the security helpline is upgraded, the entire information received from the passenger and keyed-in the computer would get transmitted to Delhi.

Manual work of jotting down the information in the register would eventually get eliminated once the system gets upgraded, the officer said. Ugradation would enable the top echelons to know the number of security-related calls received, the jurisdictional officer to whom it was conveyed, the response time and the action taken on such complaints.

The new system would put an onus on the officer concerned regarding the action taken. Automatic Calling Devices would also be installed in RPF security control rooms of other railway divisions in the near future.

RPF authorities here said the number of security-related complaints received through helpline in Tiruchi Division had doubled in 2018 as compared to the previous year.

Source