World's first ladies special turns 25

In a major landmark for Mumbai’s metropolitan railway service, the world’s first ladies special local train turns 25 on Friday. It was on May 5, 1992, that the first ladies special ran between Churchgate and Borivali stations on the Western Railway.

This milestone by the Western Railway of dedicating an entire train to women commuters has gone down in the annals of history and has achieved the privilege of being the torchbearer for other railways to reciprocate. The service was further extended up to Virar in the year 1993 and it has been running regularly ever since.

“The 1990s witnessed huge industrial and commercial boom towards south Mumbai with an increase in number of working women, especially commuting from their residences in the suburbs. The ladies special helped them commute more comfortably and safely,” Western Railway chief public relations officer Ravinder Bhakar said in a press statement.

Running successfully for 25 years on one of the busiest suburban lines, it is considered a blessing by all female travellers. At present, Western Railway operates eight ladies special services in a day.

Bhakar said that to instill a sense of safety and security amongst the women passengers, Western Railway has come up with various novel initiatives and measures. It has installed CCTV cameras in almost 60 ladies coaches.

Talk-back system is a new security measure introduced this year, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, which has been installed in all the ladies coaches of two suburban rakes, as a pilot project.