A recent move by the Sealdah Division of Eastern Railway is raising eyebrows, as it decided to allow male passengers in select coaches of the ‘ladies-only’ MatriBhumi trains. Touted as one of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s flagship initiatives, the project has faced setbacks due to multiple controversies across the state and poor occupancy on these special trains. Sealdah Division has decided to allow male passengers in 3 coaches of Matribhumi locals, i.e., 4th, 5th and 6th coaches from Sealdah end. A notification in this regard has been issued by the Railway for implementation.
What Are Matribhumi Trains?
In 2010, when the current CM, Mamata Banerjee, was the railway minister in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, she had launched an all-woman local train in Bengal. It was named Matribhumi, which means motherland. Though it was a blessing for the working women in Bengal, the train seldom ran at full occupancy. Later, due to this, the government and the railway ministry started permitting men to travel in three of its coaches. This, in turn, made the ‘ladies train’ to a general train.
The policy has sparked widespread protests from both the opposition and women commuters. In August 2015, protesters gathered at railway stations, stalled trains, and demanded that the authorities revert Matribhumi to a women-only train. However, male passengers were adamant and weren’t ready to let go of the ‘special privilege.’
Passengers confronted each other repeatedly, which compelled Banerjee to declare that only women would use Matribhumi trains again. On 21 August 2015, Mamata Banerjee and Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu held a joint press conference where they officially announced this decision together.
Why Is Sealdah Division Earmarking A Few Coaches For Men?
According to a press release, Sealdah Division has closely monitored the occupancy in Matribhumi Locals, plying across the division, in the past few weeks. Officials have noticed that these ladies’ special trains are not running at full capacity. In the recent past, Sealdah Division has achieved infrastructure development in transforming all 900-odd services into 12-car EMU rakes from earlier 9-car EMU rakes. The Sealdah Division examined the enhanced overall capacity and concluded that female commuters can still enjoy a comfortable and convenient travel experience even if they allocate some Matribhumi coaches as general coaches for male passengers.
2016 Death, Protests, And Disrupted Train Services
In 2016, a man named Dipu Sharma died falling from the Matribhumi train. The incident sparked widespread uproar across the state, with two conflicting versions emerging about the reason behind his fall from the train.
Some local newspapers claimed that a group of angry women passengers pushed Dipu Sharma off the train, triggering protests by men. However, other reports suggested that Sharma died while trying to jump from a moving train. Eastern Railways stated at that time that passengers assaulted the woman constable they accused of pushing Sharma, and they sent her to the hospital for treatment. She insisted that she was not even in the compartment where the incident occurred.
Male and female passengers took turns protesting at railway stations, halting trains in support of or against the ‘ladies-only’ trains. Women passengers claim that men occupy the general compartments, forcing them to squeeze into the two ladies’ compartments available on each train. These compartments offer very little space, and the real issue, they say, is that the overcrowded general compartments prevent them from entering at all. Women still prefer ladies-only trains as they believe it is secure and safe for them.
What Eastern Railways Said
After critically examining the average patronisation figure of all six pairs of Matribhumi locals, it transpires that the maximum seating occupancy is 75%. Hence, to utilise vacant seats/spaces and to facilitate/accommodate more office-going daily passengers, the vacant 25%, which translates to 3 coaches, have been earmarked for general passengers. Hence, Sealdah Division has decided to allow male passengers in 3 coaches of Matribhumi locals, i.e., 4th, 5th and 6th coaches from Sealdah end. A notification in this regard has been issued by the Railway for implementation.
Press Release also said that Sealdah Division has recently decided to augment one more ladies coach in EMU service, and accordingly, all the EMU rakes are now equipped with extra ladies coaches to cope up with the massive rush of female passengers, particularly during peak hours. Taking into consideration the capacity enhancement for female passengers and comparatively lower occupancy in Matribhumi locals, the decision of allowing male passengers to board in 3 earmarked coaches (4th, 5th and 6th from Sealdah end) of Matribhumi locals will certainly streamline passenger flow and will ensure comfortable and safe journey for the millions of passengers.
