The Ministry of Railways has decided to establish a new force Commandos For Railway Security (CORAS) for providing a better and more secure environment for the travelers of the Indian Railways.
Why was the CORAS launched?
- The evolving nature of the threat and the increasing possibility of disruption to railway traffic has motivated the ministry to establish the Commandos for Railway Security (CORAS).
- The CORAS unit will comprise of the volunteer staff of age 30-35 from the RPF/RPSF and should have high physical standards to join the CORAS.
- The main vision behind establishing the CORAS is the need to develop world level capabilities of a specialized responder to any situation which may lead to damage, disturbance, disruption of train operations, attack/hostage/hijack, disaster situations in railway areas.
- The commandos in CORAS will be well trained in reputed special forces institutions and in close collaboration with other special forces of India and will be capable of handling any precarious situation which may arise in the course of theirs duties.
- The CORAS will primarily be deployed on the Left Wing Insurgency/terrorism hit areas.
Railway Protection Force
- Currently, the railway security is looked after by the Railway Protection Force.
- The Railway Protection Force (RPF) was established by the Railway Protection Force Act, 1957 which was enacted by the Indian Parliament to ensure for “the better protection and security of railway property”.
- The RPF has the power to search, arrest, investigate and prosecute any offenders on Railway premises.
However, the ultimate power for law enforcement in Railway premises rests in the hands of the Government Railway Police.