Women Lead India's Busiest Railway Division Through Crisis

In one of India's busiest railway junctions, women are running the show during the country's toughest transportation crises.

The Vadodara Railway Division moves 2.75 lakh passengers and 250 trains daily along the critical Delhi-Mumbai route. Leading this massive operation is Rini, Senior Divisional Operations Manager, alongside a growing team of female loco pilots, pointsmen, and trackmen who are redefining what railway work looks like.

When military operations demanded urgent troop and equipment transport in May 2025, Rini's team coordinated confidential logistics across multiple states. They moved tanks and personnel while fielding suspicious calls from people posing as passengers, quickly switching to coded communications to protect sensitive movements.

The real test came during the aviation crisis when Indigo flight cancellations left thousands stranded. Rini received a call from aviation authorities and her team added new trains between Mumbai, Vadodara, and Ahmedabad within just 12 hours.

Then in July 2025, the Gambhira bridge collapsed, killing 23 people and severing a vital connection between Vadodara and Anand. While others assessed the damage, Rini traveled the route with her team to find a solution. Within days, they identified Kathana station and launched new rail service to replace the lost connectivity.

Meanwhile, women like Damyanti Parmar inspect engines and tighten bolts in Miyagam Karjan. Chaku Patel and Kamla Patel check air brake assemblies in Godhra. Vaishali Dhote examines railway welds and fittings, while loco pilot Arti Paunikar safely transports passengers across the network.

Shipra Ghosh, a coaching controller, monitors delayed trains and adjusts timetables in real time to prevent cascading delays. She also plans for special trains during vacation rushes, ensuring the Division can handle demand spikes without sacrificing punctuality.

Why This Inspires

These women aren't just filling roles. They're excelling in positions traditionally considered too physically demanding or technically complex for female workers. Their success is quietly changing assumptions across India's railway system, one of the world's largest employers.

Rini notes that more women are now volunteering for field positions in what remains a male-dominated department. Her approach is simple: be gender neutral at work and let performance speak.

The Division also handles critical freight operations, transporting coal for Gujarat's power grid and automobiles for export through the busy ports of Dahej and Hazira. Last year, they hosted India's first Railway Business Conclave, attracting 98 companies and expanding the network's commercial partnerships.

During festival seasons like Chhath and Diwali, the team added first-time direct trains from Ankleshwar to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, helping migrant workers reach home when trains from Surat were already full.

Through military operations, natural disasters, aviation emergencies, and daily demands, these women have proven that competence and quick thinking matter more than gender when lives and livelihoods are on the line.