Gandhi Nagar Railway Station in Jaipur, Rajasthan becomes the first non-suburban railway station in the country to be completely operated by women. On February 19, in a formal ceremony, North Western Railway (NWR) General Manager, TP Singh commemorated the occasion. All the operations including selling of tickets, checking of tickets and security, would be controlled and operated by the 40 women.

All Women Crew at Gandhi Nagar Station

The plan of all women crew at the Gandhi Nagar Station was in the pipeline for some time. It was initiated by NWR’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) TP Singh and finally executed by Divisional Railway Manager Soumya Mathur and other railway officials.

Gandhi Nagar Railway Station also happens to be one of the major Railway Stations of the city. About 50 trains pass through the station and 25 trains halt here including the Palace on Wheels and Maharaja Express. It also links the major train routes including Delhi-Jaipur. The station sees a daily footfall of about 7,000 passengers.

Speaking to The Times of India, on the commemoration of the occasion, TP Singh said, “Women have always proved that they are equal to men. Thus, it is a pleasure for me to announce that Gandhi Nagar is the first railway station of the country with an all-women crew. It is a challenging job and I hope all women employees deployed here will meet the expectations of the passengers.Matunga railway station of Mumbai is also managed by women and it is in the suburban category while our station is first in the main line category.”

GandhiNagar Jaipur #Rajasthan becomes country’s first all #Women non suburban railway Station. Operation, commercial, RPF and other activities are done 24X7 by women staffs. Government of Rajasthan has also supported by posting GRP and lady traffic police officials at this Stn. pic.twitter.com/oS0KwfheyW

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) February 19, 2018

Angela Stella, who has completed one year working in the Indian Railways, is the Station Master. Enthusiastic about her new role, she told The Times of India,“I have never thought I would be handling a station which would be all-women within one year of my job. I will abide by all the safety norms and apply standard operating practice while working.”

Railway Protection Force has also extended its support by posting 11 women police personnel in the police station attached to the Railway Station. The team of women police personnel will be headed by RPF in-charge Kavita. On the first day itself, Apoorva and Vandana Sharma caught and fined a man for roaming on the Railway Station ticketless.

Special Arrangements at the Station

Apart from being the only non-suburban railway station to be operated entirely by women, it is also one of the first six railway stations in the country with Sanitary Napkin vending machine.

CCTV cameras are installed to have a real time monitoring of the station. Renovation of the staff toilets has been completed and work on the changing room is in progress.

The women crew will work in two 8 hour shifts in rotation.

Expressing the readiness of her team of all women crew to undertake the challenge, Station Master Angela Stella told NDTV, “All trains are important to us whether passenger or goods. The safety of so many people depends on us and goods worth crores are transported by train, so our main aim is to facilitate the safe movement of trains.”