New Delhi : Attention passengers! No more last-minute boarding trains in railway stations anymore. Forget the thought of running after a moving train. You will now have to arrive earlier to catch your seat like you catch a flight in the airports. Indian Railways is planning to seal the train stations and passengers will have to arrive 20 minutes before departure and complete security checks before boarding.

Integrated Security System (ISS)

An Integrated Security System (ISS) has already put in action at Prayagraj , ahead of the Kumbh Mela which begins this month and at Hubli railway station in Karnataka where a high-end technology system for security checks is being deployed for initial testing. This blueprint would also be implemented in 202 stations after the initial round testing which was approved in 2016 itself. It will also include real-time face recognition software which will alert the RPF command centre of any known offenders. The estimated cost of the ISS project stands at Rs. 385.06 crore.

What to expect:

There will be random security checks at each entry point. Passengers need to be in the station 15-20 minutes ahead of their departure times for this security process.

The idea of investing in technology is to reduce the requirement for manpower for security check.

Passengers will be checked randomly where every eighth or ninth passenger will undergo checking when they arrive at the station.

ISS Security Check

• The security system will have CCTV cameras,

• Access control

• Personal and baggage screening system

• Bomb detection and disposal system

• They will be present from the entry in the station till the boarding of train.

But this could be received with some skepticism considering the volume of passengers' commuting in trains which runs to thousands and also with Intercity trains and MMTS also operating on a daily basis. It could be cumbersome for the passengers who come in the last minute to board the train and this security check could end up making him/her miss the train. But then again, the positives outweigh the minuses.

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