Mumbai: The state government on Thursday informed the legislative council that it will hold a high-level meeting with the railway police commissioner within the next 15 days to strengthen security at railway stations and in local trains. The government will also take necessary steps to increase the number of facial recognition cameras on railway premises and extend the deployment time for police in women’s coaches from the current 9pm to 6am, to 9pm till 8am, minister of state for home department, Yogesh Kadam, told the council.Picture for representation (HT Photo)The minister was responding to a calling attention motion raised by Shiv Sena MLC Ravindra Phatak, with reference to recent incidents of violence on suburban locals. During the discussion, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab pointed out the growing problem of drug addicts at railway stations. BJP MLC Chitra Wagh urged the government to extend police deployment in ladies’ coaches from 9pm until 8am instead of the current 6am.In response, Kadam said that physically scanning all passengers entering local stations was not possible, but the government would increase the number of CCTV cameras across railway stations and strengthen surveillance measures.“To tackle the menace of drug addicts in railway premises and trace the source of narcotics reaching them, a meeting with the railway police commissioner will be held within the next 15 days. Their criminal records will be verified and a drive for appropriate action will be taken within 25 days,” Kadam said.The minister also welcomed the suggestion to increase the timing for deployment of police personnel in ladies coaches, and said, “The government will take necessary steps to increase the timing till 8am.”Kadam informed the council that Mumbai’s suburban railway network carries 7.5-8 million passengers daily. He said 6,899 CCTV cameras had been installed across 177 railway stations, and posts for 2,000 home guards and 150 Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) personnel had been sanctioned, of which 1,520 home guards and 112 MSF personnel had been deployed.Kadam also said that 676 people had died in railway accidents from January-May 2026. The death toll in 2025 was 1,612 deaths; 1,744 in 2024, and 1,895 in 2023, he said.