The first ‘ladies special’ train in the world that connects Churchgate and Borivali, completed 26 years on Saturday. The local train was started by the Western Railway (WR) on May 5, 1992 to ferry only women passengers with two services a day, which has now gone up to eight — four each during the morning and evening peak hours.
Ravinder Bhakar, CPRO, WR, said, “Dedicating an entire train to women commuters has gone down in the annals of history, and the WR has become the torch-bearer for other railways. It’s nothing less than a milestone that dedicating an entire train to women commuters for so many years has undoubtedly helped women commuters, who number over 10 lakh, to travel safely.”
The ladies special was later extended up to Virar in 1993. Currently, WR runs four services in the morning peak hours originating from Borivali, Bhayandar, Vasai Road and Virar stations and terminating at Churchgate, and another four in the evening peak hours from Churchgate to Borivali, Bhayandar and Virar (two services) stations.
Following in WR’s footsteps, the Central Railway (CR) also introduced suburban services exclusively for the women commuters on July 1, 1992 between Chhattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Kalyan. The CR runs four full and 24 partial ladies special services on the CSMT-Kalyan and CSMT-Panvel corridors on the Harbour Line.
Saying that celebrations are in order, Mr. Bhakar said, “Women commuters on the special trains will be greeted, and feedback will be taken from them to further improve train services.” He added that over the years, WR had taken several initiative to instil a sense of safety and security in women passengers, including CCTV cameras in many ladies coaches and a talk-back system.
