Indian Railways loses Rs 55.60 lakh in Vande Bharat stone pelting incidents

Last week, the ministry informed the Rajya Sabha that 4,233 incidents of stone-pelting on trains were reported by the Indian Railways during the last three years: 2020, 2021, and 2022. These incidents from across all the trains, including Vande Bharat.

According to the ministry data, in 2022, at least 1,503 cases of stone-pelting on moving trains were registered by the Railway Protection Force and 488 people were arrested, News 18 reported.

The ministry added that during the same period, Indian Railways suffered a loss of about Rs 262 crore due to damage/destruction to railway property during agitations. In 2020, this loss was Rs 1.78 crore, in 2021 it was Rs 0.68 crore and in 2022 it was highest at Rs 259.44 crore.

Vaishnaw explained the steps taken by the RPF to "safeguard the lives of passengers and damage to Railway Property due to vandalising by miscreants". Some of these steps included:

1. Various awareness programmes including Operation Saathi are conducted regularly in inhabited areas adjacent to the Railway track to sensitise people towards the menace of stone pelting and its consequences

2. Regular drives are conducted against anti-social elements like drunkards, mischievous elements etc. in the affected section/black spots and the apprehended persons are prosecuted under legal provisions of the law.

3. For immediate assistance passengers can make complaints on Rail Madad Portal directly or through Helpline Number 139 (integrated with National Emergency No. 112).

4. Railways are in regular touch with passengers through various social media platforms viz. Twitter, Facebook, Koo etc. to enhance the security of passengers and to address their security concerns.

5. State Level Security Committee of Railways (SLSCR) have been constituted for all State/Union Territories for regular monitoring and review of security arrangements of the Railways.

The government informed Parliament that 50 Vande Bharat Express services are currently being operated on the Indian Railways network, which are catering to the needs of stations located in 23 states and union Territories. Of these 50 Vande Bharat services, 12 Vande Bharat services are catering to the southern parts of the country.