Railway beefs up security to prevent sabotage, dog squads deployed

• 2,700 Ansar personnel deployed nationwide
• 1,500 waymen set to join track inspection this week
• Canine units deployed at at stations
• Special security drills start to identify risky areas
• Railway beefs up security to prevent sabotage, dog squads deployed

In response to heightened security concerns, Bangladesh Railway authorities have adopted a multi-pronged approach, deploying measures to proactively prevent acts of sabotage, vandalism, and arson directed at trains and rail tracks.

The Rapid Action Battalion detained nine people on Thursday night for their alleged involvement in setting fire to three compartments of the Mohanganj Express train on 19 December, which killed four people including a woman and her child. However, on Friday, RAB said they were not involved in the incident.

But to prevent such tragedy in the future, security has been ramped up at stations with the deployment of canine units. Special security drills have also been commenced to identify risky areas from Friday onwards.

Ahead of launching the security drills at Kamalapur station on Friday, Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman, railway manager of Dhaka division, told reporters that a contingent of 2,700 Ansar personnel is already safeguarding tracks nationwide, with an additional 1,500 newly recruited railway waymen (tasked with the safety and maintenance of railway tracks) set to join them this week.

In the meantime, operations of four local, mail and commuter trains running at night have been suspended fearing vandalism or arson amid escalating political tensions ahead of the 7 January national elections. 

Sardar Shahadat Ali, additional director general (Operations) of Bangladesh Railway, told TBS that operations of these trains have been suspended indefinitely since 15 December.

Low passenger demand, especially at night in remote areas, along with security issues, and insufficient coaches, and locomotives have led to the temporary suspension of these services, he said.

The suspended train services are – a local train on the Ishwardi-Rajshahi-Rohanpur route, a mail train on the Rajshahi-Parbatipur route, the last round trip on the Dhaka-Narayanganj route, and a mail train from Mymensingh to Bhuapur.

Currently, the last train from Dhaka to Narayanganj leaves Kamalapur station at 6:20pm.

Apart from this, the inter-city Jamuna Express train on the Dhaka-Tarakanda route is running from Dhaka to Jamalpur now after the late-night arson attack at Sarishabari station.

Railway's special security drills

Led by Dhaka Divisional Railway Manager Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman, a team of Ansar, Railway Police, Railway Security Force, Railway Engineering Department and representatives of various departments, launched the special security drills on Friday.

The team visited Joydebpur by a "Gang Car" from Kamalapur.

Shafiqur Rahman in a brief briefing said the railways were patrolled by Ansar forces in 2014 due to lack of manpower. Some 2,700 members of Ansar have already been deployed across the country and more Ansar men may be deployed if necessary.

The Intelligence Unit of the Railway Police has identified the risky areas, he said, adding that the engineering department looks after the safety of the lines with its waymen. Advanced piloting is being done with locomotives or trolleys at various places to monitor the safety of the line.

CCTVs have already been installed at 40 major stations. The Railway Police is taking the initiative to install CCTVs at more stations, and the Telecom Department of Railways is assisting in this regard, Shafiqur Rahman said.

The technical committee is actively considering the implementation of technological solutions for the early identification of potential issues on railway lines, the official said.

The railway witnessed infrastructure damage inflicted by political unrest, resulting in an estimated financial loss of approximately Tk9 crore, he added.