Railway officials have said their plan to deter trespassing by building boundary walls is not effective, as commuters and slum dwellers residing near the tracks break the concrete walls. These walls eat into their shortcut and even when built again, they are broken down. As a result, now members of the Railway Police Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) will man the railways tracks and points where most people trespass.
Constructing boundary walls has been going on since 2013 in pockets on stations like Borivali, Vasai and Nallasopara on the Western Railway and Kurla, Kanjurmarg, Thane, Thakurli in Central Railway, and Dadar in both Western and Central lines.
Senior divisional security commissioner, Sachin Bhalode, said, “We have asked GRP to help us man the tracks, especially points where most trespassing occurs.” An official said, “These walls are at least two to four feet wide and as high as eight feet. They are reinforced concrete with barbed wire on the top to stop people from jumping over them. But now people break through this and make themselves a short cut.”
