The Indian Railways is going to install panic buttons in trains for women safety

• The North Eastern Railways will install panic buttons in coaches that will be linked to the guard's compartment.
• The NER will also deploy female policemen on night trains.
• The installation of CCTV cameras has also been proposed.
  

India is no stranger to crimes against women. Nearly six years after the brutal Nirbhaya gangrape that shook the nation and made unflattering headlines across the world, Indian women continue to be vulnerable on the streets and on trains.

In a report by IndiaSpend in 2017, India recorded a sharp 36 percent spike in crimes against women passengers reported on Indian trains, according to data submitted by the railway ministry to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament.

It seems that the Indian Railways' Northeastern division has decided to counter the rising spate of brutalities and make its trains safer for women by installing panic buttons in coaches. The North Eastern Railways (NER) also plans to deploy women police personnel on suburban trains travelling during the night and to recruit women in the Railway Police Force (RPF), according to Sanjay Yadav, the chief press officer of the NER.

The proposed panic buttons will accessible throughout the coach and will be directly connected to the guards' compartment.

“These buttons, placed at convenient spots for the easy reach of women travelers above the electric switches, when pressed will denote the coach where there is emergency and the railway staff present in the train will be informed to promptly attend to the emergency,” Yadav said.

At present, the only options women have is a stop-chain in coaches or a helpline number, via call or message, when faced with uncomfortable situations during their journey.

Yadav also said that some other measures – colour-coding the coaches marked for women, installation of CCTV cameras with live feed to the authorities, and installation of wire mesh on windows – were also proposed and that the work on these proposals is “going on”.

The panic button in coaches, however, may become a reality this year itself, Yadav said.