Hyderabad: Gundla Pochampally rail station goes all women

Hyderabad: On the occasion of International Women's Day and with a view to empower women workforce in railways and to boost up their morale and build self-confidence, the South Central Railway (SCR) has made the Gundla Pochampally railway station, one of the suburban railway stations in Secunderabad–Medchal section, an all women staff station. The staff, all women, started handling train operations, ticketing, security and other relevant duties from Tuesday onwards. According to SCR officials, around 12 women have been posted for operating the railway station, including four for operations, four for points men, one RPF, two for technical works and one for commercial activities. The station has two platforms, two tracks (upline and downline) and as it is a halt station for passenger trains, nearly 12 trains stop at the station per day and hardly 30 passengers use the services.

"In Telangana, Gundla Pochampally railway station is the second all women staff station, while the first being Vidyanagar station. The idea is to create an environment for women where they are encouraged to make decisions on their own. The railway department has planned to convert a few more stations into all women stations," said a senior officer from SCR.

As of now, five railway stations, operated by SCR, are already functioning as all women stations, including Begumpet railway station in Secunderabad division, Vidyanagar station in Hyderabad division, Ramavarapadu railway station in Vijayawada division, New Guntur railway station in Guntur division and Chandragiri railway station on Guntakal division.

Sanjeev Kishore, General Manager, SCR stated that such initiatives would help further boost the confidence of women employees. "SCR is leading by example to empower women and bring positive change in the society," he said.