After Matunga on CR, WR’s Matunga Road station to have all women staff from March 8
31 women personnel will be deployed at Matunga Road from March 8 (Picture Courtesy: ANI)
Matunga Road station is set to become the first station on Western Railways (WR), and the second in the city, to be operated by an all women staff. The female staffers will take over on March 8, which marks International Women’s Day.
“A total of 31 women personnel as frontline staff from commercial, operating and security department will be deployed at Matunga Road Station,” WR’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Ravinder Bhakar said.
The staffers will include 13 commercial clerks, 3 ticket checking staff, 11 operating staff (Station Master and Points person) and 4 Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel.
Last year, Matunga station on Central Railway (CR) became the first in the country to be managed by all female staffers, a feat that earned it a place in the Limca Book of Records 2018.
The idea for an all-woman station was first mooted by CR General Manager D.K Sharma and finally implemented in July 2017. Today the station is run exclusively by 41 women staffers, which include personnel from RPF, commercial and operating departments.
CR has also planned to deploy all-women crew for Mumbai-Pune Deccan Queen to mark International Women’s Day. Asia’s first woman loco-pilot Surekha Yadav will motor the train along with assistant loco-pilot Trushna Joshi.
“This is another step towards recognising the presence of women in all walks of life, including complicated, and technical train operations,” said Sunil Udasi, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of Central Railway.
Udasi added that all zones under CR have been instructed to identify one station where all women staff can be deployed.
