Railway Protection Force takes initiative
Making Rail Travel safer for Women in alignment with the Prime Minister’s vision of empowering women, the Ministry of Railways has undertaken various initiatives to enhance the travel experience for women across the Indian Railways network. These efforts primarily focus on ensuring the safety and security of female passengers. One such notable initiative is ‘Meri Saheli,’ which has been introduced by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) with the primary objective of ensuring safe journeys for women, especially
those traveling alone or with children in selected long distance trains.
‘Meri Saheli’ teams ensure safety of women travelers throughout their train journey, from the point of origin to their final destination by responding swiftly to any situation that may arise during the journey of women passengers. Currently, more than 230 dedicated “Meri Saheli” teams consisting of female RPF personnel have been deployed at various railway stations across the country, covering over 400 trains and providing assistance to more than fourteen thousand female passengers on an average each day. This underscores the dedication and effectiveness of the initiative in making train travel safer for women across India.
These teams play a vital role in educating passengers about security measures to be taken during their journey and provide information about the available channels for
seeking assistance in case of distress. ‘Meri Saheli’ teams are well-equipped with modern gadgets and technology. The support of technology enhances their capabilities, and makes their work easier, faster and more effective. An IT application called ‘Meri Saheli’ module auto populates data of women travelling alone in identified trains in the computer tabs with these teams.
The module monitors interaction with women passengers at boarding and en-route stations. It records feedback of passengers at destination station which is used to improve this initiative. ‘Meri Saheli’ has become a symbol of
progress towards creating a secure and inclusive railway environment for all. Women in distress find it easier to confide in women rather than men. Therefore, lady RPF personnel play a pivotal role in ensuring security of women in trains. Railway Protection Force is proud to have the highest percentage of women (9%) in its ranks among all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).
Newly recruited women are being inducted into ‘Meri Saheli’ teams to enhance their effectiveness. The RPF ladies not only provide security to women train passengers, but help women passengers in distress. Many women are forced to undertake train journeys in advance stage of pregnancy and some of them go into labour while traveling. RPF women provide facility to safe and dignified child birth for these women protecting their privacy under “Operation Matrishakti”. RPF has provided assistance in 130 such cases of childbirth on trains or railway premises during the current year so far.
