Early in December, Central Railway, a network of 477 hiatuses all over Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, became the first major railway organisation to appoint a woman at its highest post.

Soumya Raghavan, an Indian Railway Accounts Services officer of the 1973 batch, made the historic journey to the hot seat of the head of an organisation which employs 1.5 lakh people across the length and breadth of the three states.

Soumya takes over the top position of the second largest rail network of India at a time when terrorist attacks and traveller insecurity in suburban and long distance trains is considered to be the biggest worry of the railway ministry.

With Mumbai bursting at the seams with lakhs coming to the city to seek employment and opportunities for growth, the Central Railway suburban services are under the heaviest pressure for punctuality and enough number of trains to facilitate the safety and smooth travel for these millions who come from the suburbs to the heart of the city for their work.

Soumya's first concern therefore is passenger safety and comfort. She says, "I want all commuters to know that I will work very hard for improved services but they must cooperate with me. For the sake of their own security, they should be prepared for safety measures like random frisking and baggage checks by our security forces.

If commuters and long distance passengers cooperate, I will make every effort to make punctuality and comfort our priorities," she says. "Our headquarters - the city of Mumbai - has been a terror target for a long time with several blasts occurring in trains. We are working right now to ascertain the threat possibilities as perceived by each rail network.

On this basis, we will suggest the security measures to be taken to the rail ministry and I will follow these guidelines with the powers vested in me by the Railway Board. Frisking at random places is the key to keep commuters on their toes."

Soumya will have to deal with several organisations staffed by bureaucrats. She has earlier worked in Bangalore as divisional railway manager. With agitations against the railways, she even faced threats to her life. The number of passengers of this rail network is so huge that any head would feel intimidated. But Soumya is taking one step at a time .