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Thiruvananthapuram: On February 1, 2011, a 23-year-old woman named Soumya was attacked by a criminal, Govindachamy, while travelling on the Ernakulam-Shornur passenger train.Govindachamy pushed her out of the moving train, followed her, and then raped and fatally assaulted her. Soumya succumbed to her injuries five days later. The trial court sentenced Govindachamy to death, but the Supreme Court later commuted the sentence to life imprisonment, citing a lack of conclusive evidence.Cut to November 2, 2025, a 19-year-old woman named Sreekutty was critically injured after being kicked off a moving train near Varkala. She was travelling in a general compartment of the Kerala Express with her friend when a drunk man, Suresh Kumar, kicked her off the train.The incident yet again raised serious concerns about passenger safety, especially for women travelling in general compartments. Despite recurring episodes of such horrific incidents, women passengers continue to remain vulnerable to such attacks.Soumya's mother, Sumathy says after her daughter's tragic death, there were brief inspections in compartments, but those efforts were short-lived."Women and girls are not safe on trains. Even ladies' and general compartments lack proper security measures. I always pray that what happened to Soumya should never happen to anyone else," she says.To ensure the safety of women passengers across the state, the Railway Protection Force and General Railway Police jointly launched "Operation Rakshitha" on Friday. As many as 72 cases were registered across the state as part of the drive.Many passengers were booked for boarding trains intoxicated. Those booked were later released after completing legal formalities. However, they were not allowed to continue their journey.The operation will be carried out in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Palakkad and Kozhikode zones. Women police officers and other personnel will conduct intensive patrolling in trains and on platforms with special focus on compartments where women passengers travel in large numbers.Many believe these actions are few and far between. After Soumya's murder, Railway Protection Force (RPF) and General Railway Police (GRP) proposed nine measures; deployment of additional security personnel at stations, assigning more police to women's compartments between 4 pm and 12 am, on most trains, positioning women's compartments in the front or middle of the train, prominently displaying helpline numbers in women's compartments, educating engineering, guard and support staff on safety aspects and ensuring internal links between women's compartments and other bogies.However, many of these measures remain only on paper.At present Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad railway divisions operate a combined total of 265 trains daily, including 156 express and 109 passenger services.Shoranur Ernakulam and Palakkad - Thiruvananthapuram routes are among the busiest corridors.These trains cater to 8 to 10 lakh passengers daily. Of these 25 to 35 per cent are women, which means about 2 to 3.5 lakh women passengers commute across the state, both in reserved and unreserved categories.Shortage of staff is one of the major problems being faced by the Railway Police Force (RPF) and the General Railway Police (GRP). Southern Railway, which covers Kerala, has over 13,977 vacant posts at present.Meanwhile, railway authorities say that security is being given top priority through initiatives like Meri Saheli. RPF personnel have increased their efforts, emphasising the safety of female passengers, particularly those travelling alone.At five major stations in the Palakkad division, the RPF has deployed teams to identify single women travellers. These women are being educated about safety measures and precautions to take while travelling alone.Authorities are also promoting the Rail Madad Helpline (139) and digital grievance redressal platforms like Instagram and the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).A total of 64 women RPF personnel have been assigned to the mission, with an average of 11 officers attending designated trains daily. They interact with approximately 230 solo women passengers each day. In 2025 alone, the initiative benefited 37,376 women passengers and garnered widespread appreciation.Mixed RPF teams equipped with body-worn cameras, joint patrols by RPF and GRP during peak hours, and intensified surprise checks in ladies' coaches are some of the other measures that have been implemented.Notwithstanding the railways' claims of effective safety systems, much more needs to be done on priority to ensure the safety and security of women passengers in the Thiruvananthapuram – Palakkad divisions.
