The Indian Railways has decided to install CCTV cameras in all coaches in a bid to enhance public safety.

"Miscreants and organised gangs take advantage of gullible passengers. With cameras, such incidents will significantly reduce," the Ministry of Railways said in a statement.

To preserve privacy of passengers, the Ministry said the CCTV cameras will be installed in the common movement area near the doors.

Indian Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Minister of State for Railways  Ravneet Singh Bittu reviewed the progress of CCTV Cameras’ installation in locomotives and coaches.

The meeting held on July 12 and was attended by the senior officials of the Railway Board.

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The railway officials informed that successful trials have been done in the loco engines and coaches of the Northern Railway.

The Union Minister for Railways gave the go ahead to install CCTV cameras in all 74,000 coaches and 15,000 locos.

Each railway coach will be covered with 4 dome type CCTV cameras - 2 in each entrance way and each locomotive will have 6 CCTV cameras.

This will include 1 camera each at the front, rear and on both sides of the locomotive. Each cab (front and rear) of a loco will be fitted with 1 dome CCTV camera and 2 desk mounted microphones.

Modern surveillance for modern problems

The officials shared that the CCTV cameras will have the latest specifications and will be STQC certified.

The Union Minister for Railways emphasised on deploying the best-in-class equipment. He urged the railway officials to ensure that high quality footage should be available even for trains running at 100 kmph plus speeds and also under low lighting conditions.

The Union Minister for Railways encouraged the officials to explore the use of AI on the data captured by CCTV cameras, in collaboration with the IndiaAI mission.

Data privacy at the core

The purpose of fitting cameras in the common movement areas of coaches is to improve safety and security of passengers. While preserving privacy, these cameras will help in identifying miscreants.

The modernization efforts of Indian Railways are a reflection of its commitment towards a safe, secure, and passenger-friendly travel experience.