Railways to install 35,000 CCTV cameras pan-India, biggest in Rail history

Local Press Co 5-point Snippet

1. In a bid to make rail commute safer for women passengers, the Indian Railways will soon be installing 35,000 CCTV cameras across 1,000 railway stations in the country, making it the biggest surveillance system installation in the history of Indian Railways.

2. The plan to install 35,000 CCTV cameras, at an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore, was presented before the Finance Ministry at the PM’s office last month.

3. Owing to the project’s priority, the Finance Ministry sanctioned the project within three days of the meeting. They also allocated the railways Rs 200 crore to initiate the project. The balance amount of Rs 300 crore will be allocated next year.

4. Around 35 CCTV cameras will be installed at each of the 1,000 railway stations. The feeds of these cameras will be linked to a server at its divisional headquarters. PM Narendra Modi has also asked the Railways to use the CCTV footages for monitoring cleanliness across the stations.

5. The Railways has included this project in the list of works to be completed in the year 2016-2017. A source told Indian Express that the project has been flagged as top priority and the Chairman of Railway Board will personally monitor its progress.