SCR moves over 100,000 Para-Military Forces on election duties

Hyderabad, May 14 : The South Central Railway has played a pivotal role in the transport of huge numbers of Para Military Forces deputed for Election Duty, in the just concluded General Elections 2014.

This effort is in tune with the priority accorded by Indian Railways for the movement of security personnel for election duty across the length and the breadth of the country. SCR General Manager PK Srivastava specially monitored this stupendous task and issued necessary instructions from time to time to various departments of SCR, which ensured smooth movement of troops by Rail on SCR.

During a short span of 10 weeks (during March – May, 2014), as many as 87 Election Special Trains (each carrying around 18 coaches, totalling to 1566 coaches) have been run by SCR, which include 5 in March 2014, 35 in April 2014 and a record 47 in May 2014. In addition, 95 coaches were earmarked and utilised exclusively to meet the requirements of the security personnel. These coaches were attached on various regular trains bound for different destinations. Resultantly, over 1005 Companies of Para Military Forces totalling to a staggering 1,00,500 personnel were moved in this period, a record of sorts on SCR.

The high point of the movement of these Election Special Trains was the running of 16 Election Special Trains in just a span of 4 hours on a single day i.e. 8th May. These trains were run immediately after the completion of elections in Andhra Pradesh to shift the security forces to various places in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh etc. SCR successfully ran such a large number of election special trains by adhering to a tight and prescribed time schedule, there by handing over the trains to the adjacent Zones without any delay.

The SCR undertook a series of measures to ensure that the required amenities and facilities for the security personnel travelling by these Election Special Trains are met without any room for inconvenience. Catering requirements like breakfast, lunch and dinner were taken care of in all the trains on need basis, which earned appreciation from the Security agencies. This initiative is the first of its kind undertaken by SCR in association with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The Election Special Trains were thoroughly checked on a regular basis to ensure cleanliness, hygiene, water and electrical facilities etc. The air conditioned coaches were well stocked with linen and additional staff were booked for duty on these trains.

In recognition of the exemplary work done in smooth movement of a large number of Election Special Trains, the Ministry of Railways lauded SCR for its meticulous planning and execution of the train operations despite challenging circumstances, which ensured on-time running of Election Special Trains right from the originating point till handing over of the trains to the adjacent Railway Zones. Railway Board has issued a congratulatory message appreciating the efforts of SCR in this regard.

The SCR General Manager also expressed his appreciation on the successful completion of this gigantic task and complimented all the railway officers and staff who were involved in this accomplishment.  INN