Indian Railways clearly stated that if a teenage girl or woman is traveling alone and doesn’t have a ticket, TTE is not permitted to throw her off the train.
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Let’s explore a lesser-known yet crucial aspect of the Indian Railways – the law protecting solo women travellers on trains that many are unaware of. Enacted in 1989, this law, detailed in section 139 of the Indian Railways Act 1989, protects single woman passengers, especially those accompanied by children. For example: According to this section, if a woman is travelling alone without a male passenger and is with her child, she cannot be ordered to get off the train at night if she is found without a rail pass or ticket.
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Indian Railways clearly stated that if a teenage girl or woman is traveling alone and doesn’t have a ticket, TTE is not permitted to throw her off the train. If the woman has the money, she can pay the fine and continue her travels. Even in cases when the woman lacks money, the TTE is not permitted to remove her from the compartment.
Sadly, many of us aren’t aware of them. It’s time we change that. Here we have listed one of the most important passenger rules that every woman travelling alone should know about. We have also shared a few more rules that the authorities have put in place for female passengers.
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Rules Indian Railways Has In Place For Women Safety
- Military personnel are not allowed to enter ladies’ compartments under Section 311 of the Indian Railways Act 1989.
- A woman can be asked to leave only when there’s a lady constable with the authorities.
- Boys under 12 years old can travel in women’s compartments as per Section 162.
- Any male entering a women’s coach can face legal prosecution.
- Six berths are reserved in the sleeper class of long-distance Mail/Express trains for women. Also, six berths in third-tier AC (3AC) coaches of Garib Rath/Rajdhani/Duronto/fully air-conditioned Express trains are reserved for female passengers. This is done irrespective of their age, or whether they are travelling alone or in a group.
- Indian Railways have enhanced women’s safety by installing CCTVs and monitoring rooms at stations.
- The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has also launched a pan India initiative ‘Meri Saheli’ on October 17, 2020, with the objective to provide enhanced safety and security to lady passengers travelling by trains for their entire journey from boarding to de-boarding.
- The focus of the initiative is to provide security to lady passengers especially those travelling alone.
