The Samjhauta Express that leaves tomorrow night will be slightly different from the one that left on Sunday. To secure the train, there will be no unreserved compartments and there will most possibly be a change in the platform from where it pulls out.

At a late night meeting at the Old Delhi railway station, it was decided that from tomorrow — “until further orders” — when the train will make its first journey from Delhi after being attacked in Panipat on Sunday night, it will have only eight reserved compartments instead of the four reserved and 10 unreserved coaches as was the case until now, sources said.

The feasibility of shifting the train to some other platform was also discussed at the meeting. The train currently leaves from Platform 18 which, as The Indian Express reported today, has no CCTVs, is accessible from the sides towards its end making it difficult to keep a check on people waking in.

There is also the talk of operating the train from the secluded Safdarjung railway Samjhauta will have no unreserved coach station instead of Old Delhi and increasing the number of police escorts on the train but these are merely at the proposal stages.

By having only reserved compartments, the Railways hopes to be able to monitor the passengers in a better way as they will all have designated seat numbers. Since sleeper coaches are inter-connected, it will also prevent the coaches from becoming death-chambers as happened on Sunday night.

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