Railway Budget 2015: CCTV cameras to monitor women's safety on trains

New Delhi, Feb 26: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Thursday announced that a part of the money from the Nirbhaya Fund worth Rs 1,000 crore which was set up by former Union finance minister P Chidambaram two years ago will be used to improve safety of women travellers on trains. [Railway Budget 2015: Highlights]

Though Prabhu did not specify the amount of money to be used for improving the safety arrangements for women in trains.

The railway minister announced that CCTV cameras will be set up in coaches of long-distance trains and ladies' compartments in suburban trains.

However, given the fact that several CCTV cameras installed at public places have remained out of order for days now, the railways will have to pull up their socks to ensure that Prabhu's idea for a better safety ambience for the women gets fulfilled.

The Railways has also asked the National Institute of Design to design user-friendly ladders to climb upper berths besides proposing proposed more quota of lower berths for senior citizens. For the differently-abled travellers, an initiative has been taken whereby they can purchase concessional e-tickets after one-time registration.

The TTEs will be instructed to help senior citizens, pregnant women and differently-abled persons in getting lower berths while the middle bay of coaches will be reserved for women and senior citizens.

The railways have kept Rs 120 crore for lifts and escalators while newly manufactured coaches will be Braille-enabled. The railway minister also spoke about building wider entrances for the convenience of the differently-abled passengers.

Oneindia News