No Exclusive Coach But Reserve Seats For Women: Railways To Test New System For Lack Of Space In LHB Coaches 

The railways is reported to have move unreserved coach exclusively for women in long-distance trains and set aside a few seats for women as is a practice in buses, reports Mathrubhumi.

This will be implemented on a pilot basis in Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai mail, and Kochuveli-Bengaluru trains in the first phase. Among the three general compartments in these trains, seats 1-30 would be set aside exclusively for women.

Reports suggest an initial confusion over the new arrangement, ticket examiners and railway police had to evacuate some men who had occupied the seats for women as they didn't notice the signboards above seat mentioning 'reserved for women'.

However, the new system has raised quite a few eyebrows as coached reserved for women were introduced for women safety. Many passengers complain that men refused to give away seats for women in the absence of police.

Railway officials claim that the shortage of coaches has forced them to make this move, where usually SLR (seating-cum-luggage) rack which has a parcel are set aside for women. The new LHB coach doesn't have the SLR coaches says and an entire LHB coach has to be set aside for women which is not possible due to lack of sufficient coaches, say officials.