Title - Abandoned box creates scare at Avadi rly station

CHENNAI: An abandoned box caused a bomb scare at Avadi railway station on Thursday morning.Thestation, around 22km from Chennai, is on the Chennai-Arakkonam suburban route. In the wake of Wednesday's blasts in Pune, commuters became wary when a box was found lying unattended. Government railway police and Railway Protection Force personnel cordoned off the area and opened the box. They found it belonged to a train guard who had forgotten to take it while returning from duty.

It was handed over to him. "People became frightened because it was peak hour and the station was crowded with work-bound commuters. We have stepped up security at railway stations following a blast in Pune," said a railway police official.

Security has been tightened at Chennai Central with passengers and visitors being monitored through CCTV cameras.

Railway policemen and railway protection force personnel have been scanning CCTV footage round the clock. They look for suspicious movement of people and also abandonedbags or material inside the station. Periodic security announcements are also made to encourage passengers to report about unattended bags.

Railways is also gearing up to step up security measures at major railway stations in the state. Baggage scanning machines have been installed and random baggage checks are being done. More such scanning machines will be installed very soon, said a senior railway official.