The Indian Railways will be celebrating the completion of 26 years of the run of the world’s first ladies special train on Saturday, 5 May. On the same day in 1992, a local train exclusively for women commuters was flagged off from Churchgate in Mumbai to and Borivali.
The train became immensely popular with women, who were till before the launch of the special were forced to travel in ladies compartments of the regular train.
Dedicating an entire train to women meant they could travel more comfortably was the primary aim of the services.
With its tremendous success with the women commuters, the Railways further extended the train up to Virar in the year 1993 thus covering the busy suburban line.
The Indian Railways has also installed CCTV cameras in many of the ladies coaches to ensure greater security.
Talk-back System is a new security measure introduced by Western Railway last year, on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
In this system, a two-way communication is established between a commuter in any of the ladies coach and the guard of the train in the event of any emergency by pressing a button on the unit.