There was tight security today at Old Delhi Railway Station, Platform No. 18, from where the Samjhauta Express left for its first journey since the Sunday night blasts. While there were initially eight reserved compartments, the heavy rush forced the Railways to add two more, leading to delays. By the time the train left, with around 600 on board, it was 12.30 am.

“Due care was taken while issuing tickets at the Special Counter at the Old Delhi Railway Station. There were two sealed luggage vans in the train leaving tonight. Earlier, there used to be four reserved, eight unreserved and four luggage vans,” Central PRO, Railways, Rajiv Saxena said.

Two dog squads made rounds of the platform as well as the coaches before the passengers were allowed to board the train. Policemen also scanned the tracks till Samjhauta left.

However, while Railway officials had said in the morning that two more CCTV cameras were being installed on Platform 18, there was none. Minister of Railways Lalu Prasad Yadav did drop in around 11 pm and went inside the coaches to meet the passengers.

The area around the train was cordoned and passengers had to pass through door-framed metal detectors. No one except passengers was allowed past the barricades around the train.

More than 200 security personnel had been deployed for luggage checking and frisking, while around 15 immigration officers meticulously checked papers of passengers. Later, due to the heavy rush, a baggage X-ray machine was also installed.

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