Western Railway adds 25 more seats per rake for women in Mumbai local trains

The seating capacity was expanded from October 8 by creating a partition in the 11^th general coach which is adjacent to the existing women’s coach. Western Railway’s chief public relations officer Sumit Thakur said that the seating capacity was increased by 25 seats after assessing the demand from women commuters. In 2019, season ticket passengers totalled 64.6 crores, of whom 24.4 percent or 15.7 crores were women, as per TOI.

The railway officials said the move is expected to provide women with some relief from overcrowding during peak hours.

In the past, there have been several incidents of fights breaking out between women passengers over seat-sharing. In a recent incident, a fight between two passengers on the Thane-Panvel route escalated and even the women police personnel who intervened were beaten up and left injured.

To ease congestion, Western Railway also operates a few ladies’ special trains during rush hours.

The Western Railways has revised its suburban local train timetable starting this month. It has increased the number of services from 1,375 to 1,383, which includes 112 services on the Harbour Line arm of the Central Railway and an extension of 50 services. Also, the 15-coach services have increased from 79 to 106.