After the blast on board the Bengaluru-Guwahati Express which left one dead and 18 others injured at the Chennai Central Railway Station on Thursday morning, the South Central Railway has sounded a red alert across all its stations in the zone.
Chief Security Commissioner R. Pacharwal told The Hindu that he had already instructed all the six Divisional Security Commissioners (DSC) to get into action, while also writing to the Additional Director-General of Police Bhoobathi Babu (Railways) and V.S.K. Kaumudi (Law & Order) seeking additional forces to step up vigil at important stations including Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Kacheguda, Tirupati, Guntakal, Vijayawada, Guntur and Warangal.
“I have asked my DSCs to work in close coordination with the Civil and Government Railway Police apart from personally monitoring anti-sabotage checks on all trains at stations. Also, we are making announcements at all stations, asking people to be cautious and report instances of any luggage left behind or any suspicious objects,” he explained.
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Meanwhile, General Manager, P.K. Srivastava, said it was standard operating procedure for them to take preventive measures and undertake a security drive on all trains originating from the zone. “We learn from incidents happening in other zones and whatever we can do, by way of increased surveillance, we have done. For example, the Chennai blasts took place when the train was in the station, so we will take additional precautions when trains halt at important stations in the zone,” he said.
Train movement was not in any way affected, Railway officials said. The Hyderabad-Chennai Express reached Chennai Central 15 minutes late on Thursday morning and the Charminar Express arrived almost on time.