Central Railways Makes History with All-Women Crew on Vande Bharat Express for International Women’s Day
The train from Mumbai to Shirdi is staffed entirely by women, including the driver, assistant driver, train manager, ticket collectors, and hostesses.
In a groundbreaking move to celebrate International Women’s Day in 2025, Central Railways has operated a Vande Bharat Express train with an all-women crew for the first time ever. International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8th, is a global day recognizing the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
The train, which runs from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai to Shirdi, is being managed entirely by women. This includes the loco pilot (train driver), assistant loco pilot, train manager, ticket collectors (TCs), and train hostesses.
Swapnil Nila, the Chief Public Relations Officer of Central Railways, spoke to ANI about this initiative. He said, “Indian Railways has always worked to empower women. On International Women’s Day, we’re proud to have an all-women crew operating the CSMT-Shirdi Vande Bharat Express. We’re also taking similar steps with a goods train and plan to extend this to other Vande Bharat trains in the future.”
ऐतिहासिक क्षण!
जागतिक महिला दिनानिमित्त आज, 08.03.2025 रोजी, ट्रेन व्यवस्थापक श्वेता घोणे यांच्या नेतृत्वाखाली वंदे भारत गाडीस प्रस्थान देण्यात आले!
हा क्षण नारीशक्तीच्या सन्मानाचा आणि महिलांच्या सक्षमतेचा अभिमानास्पद ठरला!#NariShaktiseViksitBharat #WomensDay #Empowerment… pic.twitter.com/B6D9hnw5t0— Central Railway (@Central_Railway) March 8, 2025
Central Railways took to X (formerly Twitter) to share this historic moment. They called it a “proud and historic moment” that celebrates the strength, dedication, and leadership of women in Indian Railways. Their post read: “HISTORIC MOMENT! For the first time ever, a Vande Bharat Express is being fully operated by an all-women crew, departing from CSMT on this #InternationalWomensDay! Train No. 22223 CSMT – Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Express left CSMT today with an all-women crew: Loco Pilot & Assistant Loco Pilot, Train Manager & Ticket Examiners, On-Board Catering Staff.”
Earlier on International Women’s Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi honored ‘Nari Shakti’ (women’s power) and announced that women from various fields would take over his social media accounts to highlight their achievements.
We bow to our Nari Shakti on #WomensDay! Our Government has always worked for empowering women, reflecting in our schemes and programmes. Today, as promised, my social media properties will be taken over by women who are making a mark in diverse fields! pic.twitter.com/yf8YMfq63i
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 8, 2025
In a post on X, he stated, “We bow to our Nari Shakti on #WomensDay! Our Government has always worked for empowering women, reflecting in our schemes and programmes. Today, as promised, my social media properties will be taken over by women who are making a mark in diverse fields!”