New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS): The government said on Wednesday that the vaccination drive for railway employees is being carried out in a phased manner and in the first phase, 13,117 healthcare staff of the national transporter have been vaccinated till date.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said, "Vaccination of railway employees is being done in a phased manner."

He said that in the first phase, the railway healthcare staff are being vaccinated. "Till now, 13,117 railway healthcare staff have been vaccinated, while 3,70,316 frontline railway employees have been identified for vaccination in the next phase," the minister said.

In reply to another question on safety measures for the passengers, the minister said that the railways in coordination with the Government Railway Police (GRP) has taken several initiatives for the safety and security of the passengers, both in the trains and at the stations.

Goyal said that on the vulnerable and identified routes or sections, trains are escorted by Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel in addition to the GRP of different states.

He said the railway helpline number 139 is operational round the clock for security related assistance.

Goyal added that the Railways is also keeping in touch with the passengers through various social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to address their security concerns.

"An integrated security system (ISS) for the surveillance of vulnerable stations using CCTV network and access control has been sanctioned to improve the surveillance mechanism in 202 railway stations. Also, CCTV cameras have been provided in 2,931 coaches and 668 railway stations for enhancing the security of the passengers," the minister said.

He futher stated that drives are being conducted against the entry of unauthorised persons in trains and railway premises.

"A station security plan is being implemented at major stations in a phased manner to enhance access control, improve surveillance and achieve synergy between deployment of various security agencies on the station, while emergency talk-back system and CCTV cameras have been provided in the ladies compartments and coaches of all newly manufactured electrical multiple unit (EMU) and air-conditioned rakes of Kolkata Metro," Goyal added.