Not only did Western Railway (WR) start the world’s first ladies special suburban train in the early 1990s, it is also trying to be as friendly as it can towards the fairer sex. From the moment you step into a railway premise and till you complete your journey to Churchgate, WR’s Mumbai division has managed to rope in women in all spheres of the train travel.
“First, you buy your ticket from booking counters run by women. There are women announcers, station manager, drivers, and ticket checkers. Also, the gang-women and points-women efficiently switch track movements; so much so that we have signalling ladies and an all-woman Surakshini squad for protection of women passengers. And all this is managed by a woman additional divisional manager,” said Sharat Chandrayan, chief public relations officer of WR.
“Women have managed to get into all aspects of running the Mumbai’s suburban railway, considered the most crowded and complex network in the world. This will be almost an unprecedented gesture anywhere in the world,” said Kul Bhushan, general manager of WR and CR.
“On Tuesday, we opened a near all-woman station at Mira Road. There we have women as booking clerks and ticket checkers; even the station master is a woman,” a senior official said.
“Like at home, I am also the manager at this station. I am proud of it,” said Bharati Rajveer, the station manager at Mira Road.
The passenger reservation centre at Mira Road will now be operated by women employees. At present, there are two reservation counters at Mira Road which function in two shifts.
Neeta Tondwalkar, the visually impaired announcer at Mumbai Central station, said: “I am happy that my voice is the guide for millions of commuters.”
“Signalling is a crucial aspect of train operations and our department is an inseparable part of it,” said Archana Sangurle, joint engineer, signalling, at Mumbai Central.
Points-persons, ticket checkers, mechanics at railway workshops and Surakshini squads by women security personnel are other ‘behind-the scene’ faces of the railways that keep the lifeline of Mumbai running.
“I am thankful to Western Railway for showing confidence in me and I have confidence in myself,” said additional railway manager (operations) Soumya Mathur. Surekha Yadav, the first woman driver on Indian Railways, was felicitated at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
She drives one of CR’s prestigious trains — Deccan Queen — from Pune to Mumbai. On her arrival at the terminus on Tuesday, mayor Shraddha Jadhav felicitated her with a bouquet.
