LAHORE: Arrangements to ensure security of passengers at the Lahore railway station have been deteriorating with every passing day.

The only X-ray machine at platform No 1 to scan luggage of passengers, especially those of international train Samjhota Express, had been out-of-order for about four years.

A visit to the Lahore railway station on Monday revealed that the walk-through gates, metal detectors and other security gadgets were either not functional or required maintenance or repair.

Two months after its installation on June 24, 2011, at the cost of Rs2.9 million, the luggage X-ray or scanning machine developed some faults which could not be ratified to-date, a senior officer of the Pakistan Railways Police told Dawn.

In early 2009, a plan was finalized to beef up security arrangements at important railway stations in the wake of law and order situation, said the police officer while seeking anonymity.

As a first step, the railways administration decided to install close-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras at 24 major stations in two phases at a cost of Rs31 million.

CCTV cameras were installed under the first phase at Peshawar, Attock, Rawalpindi, Lalamusa, Faisalabad, Multan, Khanewal, Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Karachi, Quetta and Sibi stations.

However, red-tapism marred the installation of the second phase of CCTV cameras at Nowshera, Jhelum, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Khanpur, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Larkana and Mach stations as funds were not released for the purpose.

After a bomb blast at platform No 2 in April 2012 that left two people killed and over 60 injured again raised questions about the security arrangements at the Lahore railway station.

The railways police thoroughly examined security equipment on the premises of the railway station and found that CCTV cameras were out-of-order while the walk-through gates and metal detectors were not working properly.

“The matter was brought to the notice of railways authorities who asked us to start body search of every passenger which was not feasible. Furthermore, it is not possible to physically check the luggage of every passenger. Some come minutes before departure of their trains. It seems that the (railways) authorities are least bothered about the safety of millions of people, mostly belonging to lower-middle and middle classes, who travel by trains every year,” said the police officer.

To a question, the officer said the railway police could not make purchases on their own. “We have been given some arms and vehicles which are insufficient,” said the officer.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2015