Women commuters are up in arms over the way Central Railway is handling the ‘Matrubhumi specials’, popularly called ‘Ladies special’ trains, introduced by railway minister Mamata Banerjee.
Women commuters are up in arms over the way Central Railway (CR) is handling the ‘Matrubhumi specials’, popularly called ‘Ladies special’ trains, introduced by railway minister Mamata Banerjee.
They have complained that men barge into the compartments and there is no one to monitor them.
As men got into the ladies’ train on the Thane-Vashi trans-harbour line earlier this week, women commuters protested and asked the train’s motorman to intervene.
It was the Mumbai suburban system that had pioneered the trend of women-only carriages. The model is now being replicated in other metros and in several other countries.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg, and it is a persistent problem on this line. No number of complaints has worked, and men continue to barge in large numbers,” Sunita Rawat, a regular commuter, said.
“In some instances, no boards are put up on these trains to indicate they are ladies’ specials, leading to a lot of problems. The police and the Railway Police Force don’t take the complaints seriously,” Ankita Sankhe, a commuter on the Thane-Vashi section, said.
Banerjee had introduced a series of ladies’ special suburban trains on all railways for working women in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.
“There should be stricter monitoring, and there should be fines levied on men who get in forcibly,” Varsha Ravindran, another commuter, said.
CR spokesperson Ashok Singh said that they have set up a women-only squad of ticket collectors and RPF personnel to counter such incidents.
“These trains will be monitored strictly by these squads to apprehend male commuters who try to force their way in,” he added.
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