On Republic Day, the Indian Railways put out a full page advertisement in newspapers, expressing their commitment to safety. If, by putting out that advertisement, the railways hoped to instill some confidence in the travelling public in rail travel, it failed to serve the purpose. Because on the very same day, a 21-year-old student, Manish Mishra and his friend Rakesh, became victims of lawlessness on a train, thereby putting a big question mark on the safety of passengers. Manish and Rakesh , travelling on Chattisgarh Express were roughed up and thrown out of a fast moving train by a group of hooligans. While Manish died, Rakesh is in hospital. And according to reports quoting Rakesh, the railway police were mute spectators to this inhuman behaviour.

Question the railways and they will be ready with a lengthy explanation on how law and order is the responsibility of the government railway police (GRP), which reports to the state government and that the railway police force (RPF) is only meant to safeguard railway property. This was the argument put forward by the railways in the case of Manoj Pathak too, when he filed a case before the consumer court. Manoj was travelling from Mumbai to Ahmedabad on Gujarat Express with his parents, when a group of 15 ticketless travellers entered the reserved compartment and forcibly occupied the berths of those with valid tickets. When neither the police nor the TTE bothered to stop them, Manoj tried and was in turn attacked by them, resulting in his suffering a permanent partial disability. The apex consumer court pointed out that Section 147(2) of the Railway Act clearly gave the railways and the TTE the power to remove unauthorised persons from the train and if necessary, even call some others to their aid. Their failure to do so had resulted in Pathak’s injury. The railways therefore cannot escape liability for this negligence (RP NO 609 of 1995).

Surely, this is not such a difficult issue to sort out? The railways know the routes on which lawlessness is more rampant. They ought to provide adequate security on these routes. If the state police is not up to the task, then the railway police force should be trained and put on the job. The railways and the state police always say that their personnel find it difficult to act in circumstances where they are outnumbered.

Surely, this can be remedied by training these people in martial arts like karate? Special training and communication equipment will enable even a small force to act effectively against crime on board the trains. What is required is a commitment to provide safe travel. So long as that is lacking, the railways will continue to go on giving excuses every time there is a tragedy.

Let us be clear on one fact. As far as the travelling public is concerned, they pay the railways, the cost of the ticket demanded by them. They also pay in addition a safety surcharge. And they would expect the railways to ensure safe passage. Whether the railway police do it or the state police do it is not their concern.