Guwahati: In a commendable and much appreciative step taken by the Northeast Frontier Railway zone of Indian Railways, pink coaches are being introduced in trains to particularly facilitate the female passengers. The new initiative by the NFR in keeping with the rising crimes against women is praiseworthy and worth following by other railways zones of the country.
The pink coaches, made available to be travelled by women passengers only, will ensure better safety and security of women. The reason behind colouring the coaches in pink is to make it easy for the female passengers to easily identify the coaches during the rush hours.
For the time being, particular passenger trains are being selected by the NFR to paint in pink and these include the Manas Rhino Passenger(55801), Guwahati New Bongaigaon Passenger (55809/55810), New Bongaigaon – Guwahati Passenger Special (05813/05814) and New Bongaigaon Jn-Guwahati Chilarai Passenger (55805).
The special initiative of adding pink colo0ur in the coaches has been taken up by the Rangiya division of the Northeast Frontier Railway under which, for the time being, eight trains have already begun operations. As per the Section 58 of the Railways Act, 1989, there has been mention on earmarking of female passengers’ accommodation it trains and it is as per the law, the NFR has thought of doing something helpful for the female passengers. The Act has also asked the Indian Railways to act on the need to provide second class accommodation for women in the second Class-cum-Luggage-cum Guard’s Coach (SLR) in the long-distance trains.
The news on the pink colouring of the coaches has been confirmed by NFR Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Pranav Jyoti Sharma in an announcement. He has said that the pink colour will be helpful for the female passengers to ride trains safely and securely.
He added, "Six trains between New Bongaigaon and Guwahati and two trains between Rangiya and Murkongselek have begun operations with the pink-coloured coaches."