Seven years after the first metro train chugged in the city, a long-pending demand for a separate section for women was partially met on Monday.
While a women’s coach is far from realisation, from Monday, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) reserved the first two doors of the first compartment of the train exclusively for women on an experimental basis.
And, commuters seem to be welcoming it.
With a small board and stickers on the platform clearly indicating the space reserved for women and regular announcements at the stations, security personnel had little problems in implementing the initiative.
Shewta Shankar, a regular commuter, said: “This was long awaited. The trains get crowded during peak hours and it becomes very uncomfortable for women. I entered from the first door in the morning on Monday and felt a lot more safer.” Some women travellers felt that reserving just two doors was insufficient. “The Green Line (Nagasandra to Yelachenahalli) was crowded during peak hour this morning. The initiative has to be extended to a few more doors or one complete coach,” said Veena R. Swamy.
Stating that the implementation was smooth on day one, BMRCL spokesperson U.A. Vasanth Rao said: “We went to the stations along with Managing Director Mahendra Jain and interacted with women commuters. Some suggested reserving an entire coach for women. We want to do that and will definitely look it once additional coaches are integrated.”
